White Sox activate Matt Davidson from 10-day DL

Matt Davidson

The White Sox on Monday activated infielder Matt Davidson from the 10-day disabled list and optioned catcher Alfredo Gonzalez and infielder Matt Skole to Triple-A Charlotte.

Davidson, who is hitting .243 with 11 home runs and 28 RBIs in 42 games this season, has been out since May 25 with back spasms.

Gonzalez, who was called up when Welington Castillo was suspended for 80 games for PED usage, went 1 for 9 in his short big-league stint. He collected his first hit and first RBI on Sunday with a game-tying single in the fifth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Skole went 3 for 11 with a solo home run in four games. He became the sixth Sox player in team history to homer in his first major-league game May 28 at Cleveland.

The moves leave the Sox's active roster at 24 men. We'll see two more players added before Tuesday's doubleheader against the Minnesota Twins.

Obviously, one of the two will be a catcher. Both Kevan Smith and Dustin Garneau are on the 40-man roster. We shall see which player gets the call. I predict it will be Smith.

The Sox also can add a "26th man" for the doubleheader. It likely will not be a starting pitcher -- both Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez have had enough rest to pitch Tuesday. I figure we'll see a reliever who is on the 40-man roster, such as Juan Minaya or Greg Infante, but only for a day.

Carlos Rodon likely will be activated from the 60-day disabled list before the week is over, but that probably won't happen Tuesday, since Rodon just pitched for Triple-A Charlotte on his rehab assignment Sunday. I would not be surprised to see him pitch for the Sox on Friday against Boston.

White Sox (shockingly) win a series against Milwaukee Brewers

Tim Anderson

Next time a Cubs fan makes a snide remark to me while I'm wearing a White Sox shirt or hat around town -- and believe me, that happens often -- I'll be sure to point out that the Sox did the Cubs a favor by taking two out of three games from the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers over the weekend.

This marks the first time the Sox (18-38) have won a series against a legitimate contender this season, and the Brewers (37-23) saw their division lead over the Cubs trimmed from four games to two.

Here's a look back at the weekend's action:

Friday, June 1
White Sox 8, Brewers 3: The Sox fell behind 3-0 early as starting pitcher Hector Santiago got knocked out in the fourth inning, but the hitters battled back with three runs in the third, three in the sixth and two in the seventh.

The offensive output was satisfying, as the Sox roughed up three Milwaukee relievers who used to play on the South Side of Chicago -- Boone Logan, Matt Albers and Dan Jennings.

Tim Anderson's two-out, two run triple in the sixth off Albers broke a 3-3 tie and gave the Sox the lead for good. Moments later, Omar Narvaez singled home Anderson to make it 6-3.

The Sox tacked on two more in the seventh against Jennings. Meanwhile, the Brewers could not muster a single hit against a combination of five Sox relievers -- Chris Volstad, Luis Avilan, Joakim Soria, Bruce Rondon and Nate Jones -- over the last 5.2 innings of the game. Avilan (2-0) picked up the win.

Saturday, June 2
Brewers 5, White Sox 0: I've been critical of James Shields, but some credit is due to him, despite his 1-6 record.

Sure, he took the loss again Saturday, but he pitched a respectable game. He went seven-plus innings, allowing three runs on eight hits. He struck out six and walked only one. The three runs allowed all came on solo home runs.

Some days, that's good enough to win. Shields has had a lot of games recently where he was good enough to win, and just didn't because of the bad team around him.

Shields has worked seven innings or more in four consecutive starts. He has worked six innings or more in eight consecutive starts. Six of the eight have been quality starts, but none of them have resulted in wins.

Tough luck.

On Saturday, the Sox managed only five hits against the combination of Jhoulys Chacin (4-1) and two Milwaukee relievers. That is not a recipe for success.

Sunday, June 3
White Sox 6, Brewers 1: Albers didn't take the loss in this game -- Milwaukee starter Brent Suter (5-4) did -- but the portly former Sox reliever wore the goat horns once more.

With the score tied at 1, Yolmer Sanchez's leadoff single in the sixth inning sent Suter to the showers in favor of Albers, and two batters later, pinch hitter Daniel Palka launched a 433-foot home run to right field that gave the Sox a 3-1 lead. Adam Engel made it back-to-back homers with a wall scraper that deflected off the glove of Milwaukee center fielder Lorenzo Cain and over the fence. 4-1 Sox.

The Sox got to Jennings again, as well, as they added two runs in the eighth. Sanchez walked and scored on a double by Jose Abreu. Moments later, Engel doubled home Abreu to cap the scoring.

Sox starter Dylan Covey pitched five-plus innings of one-run ball, but he received a no-decision. The win went to Volstad (1-3), who combined with Avilan to get through the sixth inning. Soria, Jace Fry and Chris Beck each pitched scoreless innings to close it out.

You're welcome, Cubs.

Reason for my absence ...

Just so everyone knows, this blog is not on hiatus because the White Sox stink.

I'm in the process of moving. Blogging will resume after I complete my move Memorial Day weekend.

Talk to you then,

JB

Rare strong start by James Shields goes to waste

James Shields

Here's a sentence we rarely type on this blog: James Shields deserved better.

The veteran White Sox right-hander retired 15 St. Louis Cardinals batters in a row at one point Tuesday night. After giving up a leadoff homer to Tommy Pham, Shields did not allow another St. Louis base runner until the sixth inning.

He completed six innings, allowing only one run on two hits. He struck out four, and surprisingly, he did not walk anyone.

Too bad the Sox lost, 3-2, when the Cardinals scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth off another erstwhile veteran pitcher who has seen better days, Sox "closer" Joakim Soria.

The Sox took a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning on a two-out, two run double from Yoan Moncada. That stuck all the way until the ninth inning.

Soria gave up a home run to Matt Carpenter, a double to Marcell Ozuna and a game-deciding single to Yadier Molina.

The Cardinals weren't exactly hot coming into this series -- they had lost three in a row. But don't worry, St. Louis. The Sox are the cure for what ails every team not named the Kansas City Royals.

The South Siders are now 3-17 against teams not named the Royals, and 8-19 overall.

It's going to be a bad, long, boring season. What else can you say right now?

Latest statistics for notable White Sox prospects

I haven't checked in on the farm lately, so with the calendar turning to May, perhaps the timing is right to see how some notable White Sox prospects have fared through the first month of the season.

There has been one notable promotion so far, with right-handed pitcher Dane Dunning moving up from High-A Winston-Salem to Double-AA Birmingham, where he won his first start.

Also of note, former first-round draft pick Zack Collins was just named the Southern League Player of the Week. Thank goodness, because Collins had been really struggling at Birmingham. He raised his overall batting average from .054 to .206 in week that saw him post a .438 average with a homer, a stolen base, six RBIs and six walks.

So, while we await Michael Kopech's call to the big leagues, here's a look at some numbers (through games of April 30):

Charlotte Knights (10-13, 3rd place in International League South)
Charlie Tilson, OF: .224/.283/.282, 0 HRs, 4 RBIs, 5 SBs, 14 Ks, 7 BBs, 85 ABs
Eddy Alvarez, SS: .353/.455/.697, 1 HR, 6 RBIs, 0 SBs, 3 Ks, 4 BBs, 17 ABs
Kevan Smith, C: .229/.308/.371, 1 HR, 4 RBIs, 0 SBs, 5 Ks, 2 BBs, 35 ABs
Michael Kopech, RHP: 0-1, 2.14 ERA, 21 IP, 14 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 29 Ks, 7 BBs, 1.00 WHIP
Thyago Vieira, RHP: 0-0, 6.55 ERA, 11 IP, 13 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 20 Ks, 9 BBs, 2.00 WHIP
Jace Fry, LHP: 0-1, 1.59 ERA, 5.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 8 Ks, 0 BBs, 0.53 WHIP

Birmingham Barons (12-13, 4th place in Southern League North)
Eloy Jimenez, OF: .234/.269/.532, 4 HRs, 14 RBIs, 0 SBs, 7 Ks, 3 BBs, 47 ABs
Zack Collins, C: .206/.393/.365, 2 HRs, 9 RBIs, 1 SB, 25 Ks, 19 BBs, 63 ABs
Seby Zavala, C: .315/.411/.616, 6 HRs, 19 RBIs, 0 SB, 28 Ks, 13 BBs, 73 ABs
Tito Polo, OF: .237/.304/.344, 0 HRs, 3 RBIs, 8 SBs, 22 Ks, 7 BBs, 93 ABs
Dane Dunning, RHP: 1-0, 4.50 ERA, 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 Ks, 2 BBs, 1.17 WHIP
Jordan Stephens, RHP: 2-3, 3.67 ERA, 27 IP, 27 H, 15 R, 11 ER, 24 Ks, 8 BBs, 1.30 WHIP
Ian Hamilton, RHP: 0-0, 0.96 ERA, 9.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 12 Ks, 3 BBs, 4 saves, 0.75 WHIP

Winston-Salem Dash (12-12, 3rd place in Carolina League South)
Luis Alexander Basabe, OF: .313/.400/.614, 4 HRs, 17 RBIs, 3 SB, 20 Ks, 12 BBs, 83 ABs
Blake Rutherford, OF: .338/.372/.437, 0 HRs, 11 RBIs, 3 SBs, 16 Ks, 5 BBs, 71 ABs
Micker Adolfo, DH: .308/.369/.549, 5 HRs, 21 RBIs, 0 SBs, 31 Ks, 8 BBs, 91 ABs
Joel Booker, OF: .353/.421/.515, 2 HRs, 5 RBIs, 7 SBs, 17 Ks, 6 BBs, 68 ABs
Gavin Sheets, 1B: .290/.430/.377, 0 HRs, 8 RBIs, 0 SBs, 11 Ks, 15 BBs, 69 ABs
Dylan Cease, RHP: 2-1, 2.79 ERA, 19.1 IP, 13 H, 12 R, 6 ER, 24 Ks, 12 BBs, 1.29 WHIP
Bernardo Flores, LHP: 1-2, 3.41 ERA, 29 IP, 31 H, 15 R, 11 ER, 20 Ks, 7 BBs, 1.31 WHIP

Kannapolis Intimidators (14-10, 3rd in South Atlantic League North)
Luis Gonzalez, OF: .310/.386/.448, 3 HRs, 9 RBIs, 3 SBs, 25 Ks, 12 BBs, 87 ABs
Carlos Perez, C: .281/.294/.438, 0 HRs, 5 RBIs, 0 SBs, 4 Ks, 1 BB, 32 ABs
Lincoln Henzman, RHP: 1-2, 2.88 ERA, 25 IP, 26 H, 16 R, 8 ER, 20 Ks, 3 BBs, 1.16 WHIP
John Parke, LHP: 3-1, 1.86  ERA, 29 IP, 22 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 23 K, 5 BBs, 0.93 WHIP
 

White Sox settle for three out of five vs. Kansas City Royals

When is it unsatisfying to win three out of five games in another team's ballpark? When you win the first three, then lose the last two.

Bruce Chen

That was the case this weekend for the White Sox against the Kansas City Royals, but given the Sox's 8-18 overall record, we probably should be happy they finally won a series -- regardless of circumstances or opponent.

Here's a look back at what has happened since we left off:

Friday, April 27
White Sox 7, Royals 4 (11 inn.): Once again, Matt Davidson won a game for the Sox in Kansas City. He went 2 for 5 with two home runs and three RBIs, including a two-run blast in the top of the 11th inning that gave the Sox the lead for good.

Davidson has hit seven home runs at Kauffman Stadium this season -- a new record for a Royals' opponent -- and it's only April 30.

For the season, Davidson is slashing .462/.563/1.308 with seven home runs and 12 RBIs in seven games and 32 plate appearances in the Royals' home ballpark.

I'm guessing Davidson will have the dates Sept. 10-12 circled on his calendar. Those are the remaining three games the Sox have in Kansas City this season.

For several years, the Royals had a mediocre-at-best pitcher named Bruce Chen who owned White Sox hitters. I see Davidson's mastery of the Royals as a sort of payback for Chen.

Davidson is a mediocre-at-best hitter, but he suddenly turns into a dominant force at the sight of Kansas City uniforms. The Sox and their fans have been on the wrong end of this kind of ownership in the past, so we'll take it.

Saturday, April 28
White Sox 8-2, Royals 0-5: Most doubleheaders are split, and this one was no exception.

Surprisingly, Carson Fulmer (2-1) became the first Sox pitcher to reach two wins by tossing seven shutout innings. He allowed four hits, struck out three and walked three. It was a nice display of competence by the right-hander, even if it came against a horrible Kansas City team.

Daniel Palka collected not only his first big-league hit but his first big-league home run, as well, as he went 4 for 5 with three runs scored and three RBIs in the Game 1 win. For the first time this season, the Sox won three in a row.

Naturally, that did not carry over into Game 2, as the Sox were baffled by Kansas City left-hander Eric Skoglund. After Tim Anderson's leadoff homer, Skoglund allowed only hit the rest of his outing as he got through seven innings with a 4-1 lead.

The erstwhile Dylan Covey (0-1) was called up from Triple-A Charlotte to pitch for the Sox, and predictably, he took the loss. Although, to be fair, he ate up six innings and only one of the four runs he allowed was earned.

Sunday, April 29
Royals 5, White Sox 4: This was the most disappointing game of the series, as the Sox squandered an early 2-0 lead that came courtesy of a two-run double by Palka in the fourth inning.

Hector Santiago and Chris Volstad both gave up home runs to Kansas City's Cheslor Cuthbert, who had not previously homered this season. Cuthbert hit a solo shot off Santiago in the fourth and a three-run blast off Volstad in the fifth that gave the Royals a 4-2 lead.

The Sox battled back to tie with a run in the sixth on a triple by Leury Garcia and a run in the seventh on a two-out RBI double by Nick Delmonico. The latter hit scored Jose Abreu, who was hit by a pitch and stole second base.

However, the Sox could not complete the comeback, as Bruce Rondon (1-1) hit the leadoff batter in the bottom of the eighth inning, and the Royals ended up scoring the go-ahead and eventually winning run on a single by Sox nemesis Whit Merrifield.

I guess we couldn't get through a five-game series in Kansas City without Merrifield doing something to beat the Sox at least once, huh?

Let's have some fun with small sample sizes (White Sox vs. Royals edition)

Matt Davidson

Sometimes, statistics can be funny in April. A few examples:

(All numbers are through games of April 26)

White Sox home runs this season: 30
White Sox home runs at Guaranteed Rate Field: 8
White Sox home runs at Kauffman Stadium: 12

White Sox wins this season: 6
White Sox wins at Guaranteed Rate Field: 2
White Sox wins at Kauffman Stadium: 3

Matt Davidson home runs this season: 7
Matt Davidson home runs at Guaranteed Rate Field: 1
Matt Davidson home runs at Kauffman Stadium: 5

White Sox runs scored this season: 83
White Sox runs scored at Guaranteed Rate Field: 34
White Sox runs scored at Kauffman Stadium: 24

Why is all this so ridiculous?

Well, the Sox have only played three games this season at Kauffman Stadium against the Royals, while they've played 12 games at Guaranteed Rate Field.

But the Sox have hit more home runs in Kansas City than they have in their home stadium; they've won more games in Kansas City than they have in their home stadium; and hell, almost all of Davidson's season production has occurred in the three games they've played in Kansas City.

Davidson hit three home runs in a 14-7 win on Opening Day, and he hit two more homers Thursday in a 6-3 Sox win.

Obviously, all of this will even out eventually. Perhaps the Royals will turn the tables on the Sox before the weekend is over, but for now, the whole thing is sort of amusing.