May 31: Memorial Day 2021

 

Make it a safe and reflective one ...

ICYMI: Fred McGriff never saw the Tom Emanski videos he promoted

 You know you've seen this commercial, especially if you are a baseball fan of a certain age:

Fred McGriff was "so impressed with the instructional videos by Coach Emanski" that he gave them his full endorsement.

Turns out he never saw the videos.

Mind blown.

White Sox make 4 roster moves ahead of series against Baltimore Orioles

The White Sox made four roster moves Thursday afternoon in advance of a four-game weekend series against the Baltimore Orioles:

• Pitcher Michael Kopech was placed on the bereavement list. He must remain on that list for a minimum of three days, but not more than seven days.
• Reliever Ryan Burr's contract was purchased from Triple-A Charlotte.
• Outfielder Luis Robert (strained hip flexor) was transferred to the 60-day injured list.
• Reliever Jace Fry (back surgery) was sent on a rehabilitation assignment to Triple-A Charlotte.

Kopech left Wednesday's game with left hamstring soreness, so from that perspective, at least he wasn't placed on the injured list. Given that the Sox have a doubleheader scheduled Monday against Cleveland, Kopech was unlikely to pitch before then -- he typically makes a spot start when the Sox have a doubleheader. We'll see whether he's healthy enough to make that start. 

Burr takes Robert's place on the 40-man roster. He pitched for the Sox in 2018 and 2019. The right-hander had Tommy John surgery in 2019 and missed all of 2020. In 24 career games with the Sox, he's 1-1 with a 5.52 ERA.

If and when Fry is ready to rejoin the Sox, it will be interesting to see who gets sent to the minors. Jose Ruiz has struggled as of late -- he's given up runs in six consecutive outings -- but he's out of options. Matt Foster has also struggled this season, and could be pitching for his roster spot.

It's also possible Garrett Crochet will be sent to Triple-A to get more innings. The rookie left-hander has only appeared in 13 games this season, throwing 12.2 innings. I'm concerned the lack of activity is stunting the 21-year-old's development. If he's not going to pitch more in the majors, send him to Charlotte and let him improve his craft. He will be needed later in the season.

White Sox waste a brilliant Carlos Rodon start for the second time in a week

Carlos Rodon

In his past two starts, White Sox pitcher Carlos Rodon has pitched 12 innings. He's allowed only one run on three hits in those 12 innings, while striking out 23 and walking nobody.

And he didn't win either of those two games because his teammates stink.

On Wednesday, Rodon worked six innings of one-run ball against the St. Louis Cardinals. He struck out 10 and allowed only one hit.

Unfortunately, that hit was a solo home run by Tommy Edman, who hit a poorly located Rodon changeup into the left-field seats. That gave the Cardinals a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning. St. Louis tacked on three runs late against the Sox bullpen and went on to salvage the finale of the three-game series, 4-0.

The Sox left 13 runners on base and went 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position. In particular, it was a bad day for Yermin Mercedes, who went 0 for 4. His first two times, he came to the plate with the bases loaded. His second two times, he came to the plate with runners at first and second.

You already know the Sox didn't score in this game, so it's plainly obvious how poorly Mercedes did in those RBI situations. The designated hitter is mired in a 2-for-25 slump.

Shortstop Tim Anderson didn't play Wednesday. He's in a 3-for-30 slump. Adam Eaton left Wednesday's game with a sore hamstring. He is batting .125 since April 27.

Also injured Wednesday ... Michael Kopech. He took a weird fall on the mound as he delivered his final pitch of a scoreless seventh inning. He is day-to-day with hamstring soreness, although honestly, it looked like Kopech wrenched his knee. Regardless, he's the best reliever the Sox have this year, so it would be a huge loss if he were to miss much time.

So, yeah, no good news at the old ballpark today. The only blessing is the Cleveland Indians also lost Wednesday, so the Sox maintain their 1.5-game lead in the AL Central for at least another day.

The Baltimore Orioles come to town next for a four-game series starting Thursday night. Good news: The Orioles are a lowly 17-32 this season. Bad news: They've lost nine in a row, which means they are due to win a couple. The odds of baseball say you can't win 'em all, but you also can't lose 'em all.

Lucas Giolito beats former high school teammate Jack Flaherty in high-profile pitching matchup

Lucas Giolito

Sometimes marquee pitching matchups don't live up to the hype, do they? Tuesday's game between the White Sox and the St. Louis Cardinals featured a pair of aces who are former high school teammates -- Lucas Giolito for the Sox and Jack Flaherty for the Cardinals.

Flaherty entered the game with an 8-0 record, but he didn't make it out of the fourth inning in this one, as the Sox secured a series victory with an 8-3 win.

Giolito (4-4), who has been off to a slow start this season, got back to .500 by pitching six innings of two-run ball. Only one of the runs was earned. He struck out five and walked none, while allowing six hits.

The St. Louis defense committed three errors behind Flaherty, and in fact, the Sox scored two runs in the first inning without the benefit of a hit. They added three more runs in the second inning on just two hits.

Jose Abreu hit his 10th home run of the season off Flaherty in the bottom of the fourth. It was a two-run shot to make the score 7-2, and it was part of a four-RBI night for the Sox first baseman.

Final line on Flaherty: 3.2 IP, seven runs, only three earned, on six hits. He struck out three and walked two.

The Sox took their 8-3 lead into the ninth inning, but of course, the leaky bullpen made it interesting. Garrett Crochet gave up a leadoff double to Yadier Molina and walked two batters to load the bases with nobody out.

That forced Tony La Russa to bring Liam Hendriks into a save situation. The Sox closer struck out all three batters he faced to strand the three runners and earn his 10th save of the season.

The Sox go for the sweep Wednesday afternoon with Carlos Rodon on the mount. John Gant will pitch for St. Louis.

White Sox lineup construction idea: Try Andrew Vaughn in the No. 2 spot

Andrew Vaughn

Arguing about lineup construction gets old fast, so I try not to jump down that hole too often. But an idea occurred to me while watching the White Sox snap a three-game losing streak with a 5-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday night.

Try rookie Andrew Vaughn in the No. 2 spot -- at least against left-handed pitchers.

Vaughn hit the longest home run Aroldis Chapman has ever given up Sunday, and that boosted his season slash line against left-handed pitchers to .290/.436/.645.

On Monday night, St. Louis started left-hander Kwang Hyun Kim. Vaughn, batting seventh in the order, got two hits in three plate appearances against Kim -- a double in the second inning and a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth that turned the game in the Sox's favor.

The Sox were trailing 1-0 at that point, but Vaughn put them up 2-1 by pulling a Kim changeup over the left-field wall. Tim Anderson added a two-run double later than inning to make it 4-1, and the Sox cruised from there. 

Lance Lynn (5-1) took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and pitched seven innings of one-run ball to earn the win. Michael Kopech struck out three over two innings of scoreless relief.

But back to the No. 2 spot in the batting order. On Monday, it was occupied by Adam Eaton, who has been in a slump for the past month. He's batting .198/.305/.351 for the season. Not good, and the picture is even worse against lefties. Eaton is 2 for 22 against left-handed pitchers. He hasn't been playing much against them, nor should he be.

Other players who have been tried in the No. 2 spot include Nick Madrigal and Leury Garcia. Let's just say those two extremely aggressive hitters are more suited to the bottom of the lineup.

After Monday's game, Vaughn overall season slash line is .230/.326/.416, so that means he does struggle against right-handers. But, he's mashing lefties, and he sees pitches and takes walks. Why not move him up in the lineup when a favorable matchup for him presents itself?

White Sox travel to New York for weekend series with the Yankees

When the season first started, I saw a lot of people forecasting an American League Championship Series matchup between the White Sox and the New York Yankees.

Welp, it's May 21, and that's still plausible. Neither team has done anything to make you believe they can't make the postseason. The Sox are 26-16 and in first place in the AL Central. The Yankees are 25-19 and in third place in a tightly packed AL East.

I hesitate to say this is "a potential playoff preview," because there's a long way to go, and both teams have some key injuries anyway.

At any rate, here are the pitching matchups for a series that will probably get some national attention:

Friday: Carlos Rodon (5-1, 1.47 ERA) vs. Jordan Montgomery (2-1, 4.75 ERA)

Saturday: Dylan Cease (2-0, 2.41 ERA) vs. Gerrit Cole (5-2, 2.03 ERA)

Sunday: Dallas Keuchel (3-1, 4.44 ERA) vs. Jameson Taillon (1-3. 5.73 ERA)

2019-20 version of Lucas Giolito appears at right time for White Sox

Lucas Giolito

The best way for the White Sox to move past all the unnecessary drama created by manager Tony La Russa over the past 24 hours was to win a baseball game Wednesday afternoon in Minnesota.

Lucas Giolito made that happen with by far his best effort of the season. The right-hander, who entered the game with an uncharacteristic 2-4 record and 4.97 ERA, dominated the Twins over a season-high eight innings in a 2-1 victory.

He struck out a season-high 11 and allowed only two hits, both to Nelson Cruz, one of which was a home run. Giolito's signature changeup is back in effect. On Wednesday, he threw it 46 times out of 111 pitches, and it led to 13 swings-and-misses by Minnesota batters.

That allowed Giolito to get away with three walks, including two leadoff walks. As the game moved along, he became more efficient with all three of his pitches -- fastball, change and slider. He had 40 pitches through two innings, which made an eight-inning performance seem improbable, but from the fourth inning through the eighth, Giolito used only 58 pitches.

Liam Hendriks, after a rough outing Tuesday, bounced back with a 1-2-3 ninth inning with two strikeouts to earn his ninth save. Hendriks needed only nine pitches to get three outs, and five of the nine were breaking balls. The Sox closer clearly made an adjustment after surrendering the game-winning hit on a fastball in his previous outing.

The elite run prevention was necessary, since the Sox only managed two runs off Minnesota starter Matt Shoemaker, who had struggled before Wednesday. 

Props to Leury Garcia, who we've criticized a lot on this blog. He was good Wednesday. In the fifth, he doubled and scored on a infield single by Adam Eaton. In the sixth, he delivered a go-ahead RBI single that scored Jake Lamb, who had doubled.

Add it all up, and the Sox finished 10-3 in this 13-game stretch against the Kansas City Royals and the Twins. Any fan should be happy with the team's overall 26-16 record.

I'll admit that I'm more pissed off than I should be. It's just an interesting time for the Sox. They are getting national respect for the play on the field. They are ranked No. 1 in almost every MLB power ranking you can find. But at the same time, they are laughingstocks and a national punching bag, because their 76-year-old manager is lecturing players about unwritten rules, while he himself doesn't know some of the written rules of baseball.

Only the White Sox. But we can hope this team is good enough to drown out the noise and continue to win. Giolito's performance was a good first step in that direction.

Tuesday was a demoralizing and angering day to be a White Sox fan

Yermin Mercedes

People often wonder why I'm not enthusiastic about the 2021 White Sox. Yes, they are in first place. And they probably should win their division, even with all the injuries they have.

But I have no confidence in the organization whatsoever. Days like Tuesday are why.

The day started with manager Tony La Russa calling Yermin Mercedes "clueless" and generally ripping the rookie designated hitter to shreds in public.

Why? Because Mercedes committed the "big mistake" of hitting a home run on a 3-0 pitch in the ninth inning of a 15-4 game Monday night -- off a 47-mph eephus pitch from Minnesota utilityman Willians Astudillo.

The only one clueless here is La Russa, who belongs in a retirement home. If you look around the baseball world, most people are supporting Mercedes, who provided a fun moment in a game that was out of hand and generally uninteresting otherwise.

In what alternate baseball universe are we living in where hitting a home run is a "big mistake"?

The only people offended seemed to be the biased observers in the Minnesota TV booth and, well, La Russa, who for some reason is worried about "respecting" the Twins.

I don't care about the Twins and their feelings. The Sox won Monday's game 16-4. My only regret is they didn't win 26-4.

Nobody associated with the Sox should care about the Twins or their feelings. Sadly, La Russa is putting his regard for the Twins ahead of his own team. He needs to knock that off immediately. You support your players in the media, even if you disagree with something they've done. 

If he wants to have a private conversation about this with Mercedes, fine, but you don't call someone who has been a key contributor to your team for the first quarter of the season "clueless" in a public setting.

To make matters worse, the Sox had a 4-0 lead after three innings Tuesday night with Lance Lynn on the mound. They blew the whole thing and lost, 5-4.

They gave up three home runs to Miguel Sano, who came into this game with a .141 batting average. Sano's third home run of the night, a two-run shot in the bottom of the eighth that tied the game at 4 off Aaron Bummer, didn't need to happen. First base was open. The situation called for an intentional walk, or at least a pitch-around. 

"Clueless" La Russa apparently didn't think of that.

Bummer gave up a leadoff hit to Andrelton Simmons in the bottom of the ninth. As the inning progressed, Liam Hendriks lost the game by grooving a fastball right down the middle to Jorge Polanco, who doubled off the wall to score Simmons with the winning run.

And let's not forget the wonderful Sox lineup, which failed to score a single run the last five innings of the game against the reeling Minnesota bullpen.

Yes, the Sox are 25-16. Yes, the Twins are 14-26. But this was the archetypal White Sox choke job in Minnesota, and coming on the heels of the manager's asinine comments earlier in the day, it was just a demoralizing, infuriating day for me as a Sox fan.

The organization just cannot get out of its own way. Even when they have a good thing going, they invent ways to screw it up.

What do we make of Gavin Sheets' red-hot start at Charlotte?

The reports on Gavin Sheets' play at Triple-A Charlotte have been glowing so far. 

Sheets, the White Sox's second-round pick in the 2017 MLB Draft, went 3 for 5 with two home runs and five RBIs in Charlotte's 13-6 victory over Norfolk on Sunday. 

The performance added to the buzz surrounding the left-handed first baseman, as he is now hitting .367/.415/.633 with four doubles, three home runs and 13 RBIs over the first 12 games of the season.

We're already seeing some folks stumping for Sheets to be called up to the majors. 

You can understand why people would feel that way. The Sox are having trouble keeping sluggers healthy. As we've documented, Eloy Jimenez is out five to six months with a pectoral injury. Luis Robert is out 12 to 16 weeks with a strained hip flexor.

Because of these injuries, the Sox's starting outfield in Monday's game against the Minnesota Twins featured Leury Garcia, Billy Hamilton and Danny Mendick. Not exactly the stuff that World Series dreams are made of, right? (And yes, I know the Sox won 16-4 on Monday, but I don't think I would want to ride with that trio in the outfield long term.)

To add an extra layer of challenge to the situation, the Sox will be without first baseman Jose Abreu until at least Friday with left ankle inflammation. 

So yeah, the offense is lacking some key players right now, and to the Sox's credit, they've been using Sheets in right field in Charlotte -- not just at first base -- to see whether he can increase his defensive versatility. I'm sure the thinking is, "What if the oft-injured Adam Eaton gets hurt next? Then what do we do in right field? Is Sheets a potential solution?" 

No harm in kicking the tires on that possibility at Triple-A, and obviously the bat looks good right now.

But here's why I'd pump the brakes on giving Sheets an immediate recall: The hitting environment in Charlotte is extremely friendly, and the Knights have played all 12 of their games at home. Sheets isn't the only guy in Charlotte swinging the bat well. Check out these team stats. Hell, even Marco Hernandez and Seby Zavala are kicking some ass, and neither of those two players are known for high-level offense.

Looking at the schedule, the Knights start a 12-game road trip to Durham and Norfolk on Tuesday night. Let's see if these offensive gains hold for Sheets and some of the other guys at Triple-A. Then we can reassess that situation.

Jose Abreu's dash to the plate helps White Sox salvage split with Royals

Well, the White Sox didn't play the most inspiring series against the Kansas City Royals this weekend at Guaranteed Rate Field. They won only two out of the four games, which is good only in the sense that they lost two out of the first three, and come Sunday, a split was the best they could do.

And on Sunday, they were trailing 3-2 going into the bottom of the ninth inning. They scored two runs and won, 4-3, capped off by Jose Abreu scoring from third on a wild pitch that wasn't all that wild.

If you haven't seen the video of that play yet, be sure to check it out.

First off, I think Kansas City manager Mike Matheny made some bizarre decisions managing his bullpen this weekend. He used his usual closer, Josh Staumont, to finish off a 6-2 win in Game 1 of a doubleheader Friday. (The Sox won the second game, 3-1). Then he used Staumont in a non-save situation again Saturday, when Kansas City won 5-1.

So, presumably Staumont was unavailable Sunday after needlessly pitching back-to-back days in non-save situations. That left erstwhile veteran Wade Davis to try to close Sunday's game for the Royals, and he failed.

Tim Anderson doubled to lead off the bottom of the ninth. He advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Adam Eaton and scored the tying run on a single by Yoan Moncada.

Abreu was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second. Yermin Mercedes followed with a single to right field, but Moncada blew through a stop sign by third-base coach Joe McEwing and got thrown out at the plate for the second out.

Fortunately, Abreu took third on the throw, and that ended up mattering. Yasmani Grandal was the next Sox hitter, and of course, opposing teams put on a shift for him when he's batting left-handed.

That means the third baseman is nowhere near the third-base line, and any runner on third can get a pretty good lead in the event that there's a ball in the dirt. From my vantage point -- I was sitting down the third-base line, as you can see in the photo I took before the game started -- Abreu was getting a substantial lead.

And when Davis bounced a breaking ball, Abreu wasted no time breaking for home, even though Kansas City catcher Cam Gallagher did a nice job of blocking the pitch and keeping the ball in the area of the plate. 

Was Abreu safe or out on the bang-bang play at the plate, as Gallagher lunged to try to tag Abreu before he touched the plate? Not sure, but I don't think there was a camera angle that showed anything conclusively. In those cases, the call on the field stands, and the call on the field was safe.

Quite a finish. I've seen plenty of games end on wild pitches, but never one quite like that.

White Sox complete sweep of Twins, will host Royals this weekend

Tim Anderson

The White Sox didn't exactly crush Minnesota right-hander Michael Pineda, but they did finally beat him. The South Siders completed a three-game sweep of the Twins with a 4-2 victory Thursday afternoon at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Pineda had made five starts against the Sox since joining the Twins in 2019. He was 4-0 in those starts, and the Twins were 5-0 in those games. Alas, that spell has been broken.

Tim Anderson hit Pineda's first pitch of the game for a home run to left field, his fifth of the season. Jake Lamb homered for the first time this season in the third. Andrew Vaughn added an RBI single in the sixth, as the Sox scored three runs off Pineda (2-2) in 5.1 innings.

Yermin Mercedes added a pinch-hit, two-out RBI single in the bottom of the eighth, which took a 3-2 Sox lead to 4-2. Remember what I said yesterday: Teams that get two-out RBIs win championships.

Those four runs turned out to be enough as Sox pitching wobbled but didn't break. Lance Lynn (4-1) needed 111 pitches to get through five innings. The Sox committed three errors behind him, which didn't help matters. 

But the veteran right-hander made one of the biggest pitches of the game in the bottom of the fifth. With the bases loaded and two outs and a 3-2 count on Mitch Garver, Lynn preserved a precarious 2-1 lead with a blazing fastball that caught Garver looking. That was Lynn's 111th and final pitch, and he made it count.

Matt Foster worked a 1-2-3 sixth. Garrett Crochet walked two in the seventh, but he also struck out two to escape trouble. For some reason, Jose Ruiz was allowed to pitch in high leverage in the eighth. He gave up a home run to Max Kepler that cut the Sox's lead to 3-2, plus two singles.

Minnesota had runners at first and second with one out and a chance to tie the game. Enter Liam Hendriks, who cleaned up that mess, then worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his seventh save.

Hendriks threw 28 pitches in Wednesday's win, so there was some question about his availability Thursday. But not only was he available, he also retired all five men he faced in high leverage.

Give Sox manager Tony La Russa full credit for going all in to win Thursday's game. Hendriks may not be available Friday against the Kansas City Royals. But if the Sox lose to the Royals on Friday because Hendriks couldn't pitch, oh well, I think it was more important to beat the Twins on Thursday.

Now, the Sox (22-13) are a full 10 games ahead of the Twins (12-23) in the AL Central standings. We expect Minnesota to play better and make a push at some point. But in the meantime, it was important to kick sand in the Twins' faces while you can.

Next up, a four-game weekend series against the Royals, which includes a doubleheader Friday. I'm going to Sunday's game, and we'll review the series when blogging resumes Monday.

Here are your pitching matchups:

• Friday, Game 1: Lucas Giolito (2-3, 4.54 ERA) vs. Brad Keller (2-4, 7.31 ERA)
• Friday, Game 2: Michael Kopech (2-0, 1.61 ERA) vs. Jakob Junis (1-2, 5.14 ERA)
• Saturday: Carlos Rodon (5-0, 0.58 ERA) vs. Mike Minor (2-2, 5.75 ERA)
• Sunday: Dylan Cease (2-0, 2.80 ERA) vs. Brady Singer (1-3, 4.19 ERA)
  

White Sox take second game of series against Twins, will try for sweep Thursday

Billy Hamilton

The White Sox are now nine games ahead of the Minnesota Twins in the AL Central after their 13-8 victory Wednesday night at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Sure, it's only May 13, but it's worth noting that the defending division champion Twins (12-22) are 10 games below .500, and they're digging themselves quite a hole. 

Meanwhile, the Sox are 21-13 and remain in first place, one game ahead of the Cleveland Indians.

There wasn't much pitching in Wednesday's game. In fact, as a fan of well-pitched games, it was a little irritating to watch at times. The Sox were ahead 12-3 after five innings, and they were never really in danger, but it wasn't a clean finish for the bullpen.

But instead of dwelling on that, let's look at some Sox offensive highlights:

• Billy Hamilton went 4 for 4 with three runs scored and an RBI. He finished a home run short of the cycle. 
• Andrew Vaughn had only one hit, but it was the first home run of his career -- a two-run shot off J.A. Happ as part of a five-run rally in the bottom of the fourth inning.
• Jose Abreu went 2 for 5 with an RBI triple and a two-run single. All three of his RBIs came with two outs.
• Speaking of two-out RBIs, Yoan Moncada had a two-out, two-run single to cap a three-run fifth inning. Teams that get two-out RBIs win championships.
• Yasmani Grandal continued his bizarre, three-true-outcomes season. He went 1 for 3 with a home run, two walks, a strikeout and three runs scored. His ridiculous slash line now stands at .130/.384/.333.

The Sox will try for the sweep Thursday afternoon, and they'll face their nemesis -- right-hander Michael Pineda. Since Pineda joined the Twins, he's started five games against the Sox. Minnesota has won all five times.

Lance Lynn will get the call for the Sox. Carlos Rodon had his start pushed back to Saturday. Apparently, Rodon is dealing with some minor ailments -- back tightness and an achy hamstring and whatnot -- so the Sox are being cautious with him. Thanks to the off day Monday, Lynn will work on regular rest -- he last pitched Saturday in Kansas City.

Bullpen advantage shows up for White Sox in series opener vs. Twins

Garrett Crochet

If you just saw the 9-3 final score, you would think the White Sox coasted to a victory over the Minnesota Twins in the opener of their three-game series Tuesday night at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Well, this game was actually close through five innings. Sox starter Dylan Cease and Minnesota starter Kenta Maeda both gave up three runs in the second inning, but nothing more. Both starters left after five innings with the game tied, 3-3.

Here's the difference in this game:

Sox bullpen: 4 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 Ks, 0 BBs

Twins bullpen: 3 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 Ks, 2 BBs

The Sox took the lead for good when Jose Abreu connected for his seventh home run of the season, a 2-run shot off Jorge Alcala in the bottom of the sixth. The South Siders added two runs in the seventh inning and two more in the eighth, and that made for a comfortable finish. 

And hey, congratulations to Garrett Crochet (1-2), who picked up his first major league win out of the bullpen. Crochet entered with runners at first and third and one out in the top of the sixth inning, and he kept Minnesota off the board. The Sox scored in the bottom of that inning, and there's your win.

Also of note in this game, Yasmani Grandal hit a 3-run homer in the bottom of the second inning off Maeda to tie the game, after the Twins jumped to an early 3-0 lead.

In case you were wondering about Grandal's bizarre slash line, his 1-for-4 night brings it to .121/.372/.288.

White Sox to host Minnesota Twins for first time in 2021

Alex Colome

When the season started, many observers thought the AL Central race would come down to the defending champion Minnesota Twins and the White Sox -- and it still might.

But thus far, things have been going much better for the Sox than they have been for the Twins. The Sox are 19-13 and alone in first place in the division, while the Twins sit seven games behind in fourth place at 12-20.

The two teams will match up for three games in Chicago starting Tuesday night, and the Sox will be seeing a lot of the Twins in the next two and a half months -- 16 of the 19 meetings between these two clubs will occur within the next 77 days.

Of note, the Twins are 0-7 in extra-inning games so far this season, so they've lost a lot of close ones. You could say it's bad luck, but you could also say Minnesota's bullpen has been brutal.

Former Sox closer Alex Colome has had his problems since joining the Twins -- he has given up 15 runs (eight earned) in just 12.2 innings this season. He's 1-3 with a 5.68 ERA. Tyler Duffey (0-2, 5.56 ERA) also has been having a rough time out of the Minnesota bullpen.

Here's a look at the pitching matchups for this series:

Tuesday: Dylan Cease (2-0, 2.37 ERA) vs. Kenta Maeda (2-2, 5.02 ERA)

Wednesday: Dallas Keuchel (1-1, 3.79 ERA) vs. J.A. Happ (2-0, 1.91 ERA)

Thursday: Carlos Rodon (5-0, 0.58 ERA) vs. Michael Pineda (2-1, 2.43 ERA)

Three things to watch for in this series:

1. Can the Sox solve Pineda? I always cringe a little when I see Pineda scheduled to pitch against the Sox. Lifetime, he's 5-3 with a 3.21 ERA against the South Siders, and frankly, I'm surprised he's not 8-0. Pineda is a decent, but not great pitcher -- a lifetime 3.96 ERA. But especially since he's joined the Twins, he always seems to save his best games for the Sox.

2. Michael Kopech's usage. Looking ahead a little bit, the Sox have a doubleheader against the Kansas City Royals on Friday, and they are considering using Kopech to start one of those games. But if the Sox have a high-leverage situation in the late innings against the Twins, such as extra innings, will manager Tony La Russa use Kopech to try to get the win? With all due respect to the Royals, my general feeling is still that Minnesota is a bigger threat to the Sox. No matter what the standings say at the moment, it's important to beat the Twins.

3. Yasmani Grandal's offense. It's starting to get a little insane for the Sox catcher, who is batting .113/.378/.242 so far this season. Grandal has appeared in five games in the month of May and taken 22 at-bats. He's 0 for 7 with five strikeouts, 14 walks and a sacrifice fly. Fourteen walks in 22 plate appearances for a guy who is batting .113 and can barely put the ball in play! At this point, you wonder why pitchers are not challenging Grandal more often.

White Sox complete three-game sweep of Royals

Carlos Rodon

The White Sox kicked off a stretch of 13 straight games against AL Central opponents in strong fashion this weekend, sweeping three games against the Royals in Kansas City.

Coming into the series, it appeared the Sox had the edge in the pitching matchup in all three games, and they took advantage, just as you would hope they would do. They outscored the Royals 21-4 in the series, and at 19-13, the Sox now lead the Cleveland Indians by one game in the AL Central race.

Kansas City (16-17) has lost eight consecutive games and has fallen 3.5 games off the division lead.

Let's take a look back at the weekend that was:

Friday, May 7

White Sox 3, Royals 0: If anyone tells you they expected greatness from Carlos Rodon this season, they are lying. Rodon was considered the No. 5 pitcher in the rotation when the year started, but right now, he's the best the Sox have. He's started five games, and he's 5-0 with a 0.58 ERA.

Rodon has not allowed more than one run in any start yet this season. And he's allowed no more than five hits in any of those games. The left-hander did allow five hits in this game over six scoreless innings, but he struck out eight and didn't walk anybody. 

The three runs the Sox scored for him, highlighted by Zack Collins' second home run of the season, ended up being enough.

But getting back to Rodon, he is the first pitcher since Pedro Martinez in 2000 to allow five hits or less in each of his first five starts of the season. That was Martinez at his Hall of Fame peak, so that tells you what a good stretch Rodon has had.  

Saturday, May 8

White Sox 9, Royals 1: The Sox have made a habit of feasting on left-handed starters in recent times, and Royals rookie Daniel Lynch -- making his second MLB start -- got blown to bits in this game.

The Sox sent 13 men to the plate in the first inning and scored eight runs. Lynch recorded only two outs, while being charged with eight earned runs on seven hits. Highlighting in the rally: a two-run double by Yoan Moncada, a sacrifice fly by Yasmani Grandal, an RBI double by Andrew Vaughn, an RBI triple by Leury Garcia, a two-run homer by Danny Mendick and another RBI single by Moncada.

That was pretty much the game. Sox starter Lance Lynn walked four over five innings, so he wasn't overly sharp with his control. But he only allowed one hit, and he easily improved to 3-1 with the big lead.

Sunday, May 9

White Sox 9, Royals 3: Hey, a win with Lucas Giolito on the mound! Giolito (2-3) wasn't his sharpest -- he only went five innings and had just two strikeouts. But he only allowed a run in the first inning.

The Sox quickly bounced back with three in the second and two in the third to take an early 5-1 lead, and the Royals never came close to getting back in the game. 

The South Siders are 21-1 against lefty starters since the start of the 2020 season, and they avenged the only loss by tagging Kansas City starter Mike Minor for those five runs.

Jose Abreu and Yermin Mercedes each had two hits and three RBIs to lead a 10-hit attack for the Sox.

Also of note on the pitching side, lefty reliever Aaron Bummer retired all five batters he faced, three of them by strikeout.

Fix this: White Sox are 1-5 when Lucas Giolito starts

Lucas Giolito

It's probably too early to look at the AL Central standings, but let's look at them anyway. After all, the next 13 games for the White Sox are against two division rivals -- the Kansas City Royals and the Minnesota Twins.

Here's how the division stacks up entering Friday's action:

1. Cleveland 17-13
2. White Sox 16-13
3. Kansas City 16-14
4. Minnesota 11-19
5. Detroit 9-23

There are two surprises here. First, the Royals are playing better than .500 baseball. Sure, they just got swept four straight at home by Cleveland, so they might be coming back to reality. But it's been a good start for Kansas City. The Sox will be on the road this weekend against the Royals, and they can't expect to win this series easily. This isn't the same Royals team the Sox went 9-1 against in 2020.

Second, the defending AL Central champion Twins are playing bad. Real bad. In the past, the cure for whatever ails Minnesota has been games against the Sox. Can the Sox keep the Twins on the skids when they play them in Chicago next week? We shall see, but first things first.

Here are the pitching matchups for this weekend in Kansas City:

• Friday: Carlos Rodon (4-0, 0.72 ERA) vs. Brad Keller (2-3, 8.06 ERA)
• Saturday: Lance Lynn (2-1, 1.82 ERA) vs. Daniel Lynch (0-0, 5.79 ERA)
• Sunday: Lucas Giolito (1-3, 4.99 ERA) vs. Mike Minor (2-1, 5.23 ERA)

What am I watching for in this series? I'm wondering whether the Sox can win a game with Lucas Giolito on the mound. The ace of the staff has made six starts this season, and in those games, the Sox are 1-5.

Some of Giolito's woes are self-inflicted. He had a real clunker against the Boston Red Sox on April 19. However, he could also sue his teammates for non-support. The Sox have scored only 19 runs in those six games, and 10 of them were in one game. So, in Giolito's other five starts, the Sox have provided only nine runs of support.

In two of Giolito's starts -- both against Cleveland -- the Sox gave him no runs whatsoever. In one of those games, he managed to keep the Indians off the board and got a no-decision in an eventual loss. In the other, he gave up one earned run and lost. Basically, he forgot to throw a shutout, or give up negative runs.

That's one thing that has to change if the Sox are going to stay in the division race and potentially win it this year: They need to win consistently on Giolito's day to pitch. Let's see if this trend reverses on Sunday.

What exactly are the White Sox doing anyway?

Tony La Russa

Is it just me, or do the White Sox find themselves in the national spotlight for embarrassing things more often than other teams?

Manager Tony La Russa was unaware of an extra-inning rule that would have allowed him to avoid using closer Liam Hendriks as a base runner during the 10th inning of Wednesday's 1-0 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. I don't really feel like rehashing the whole scenario, so click the first link in the sentence above to read Bruce Levine's report on what happened.

This ended with The Athletic's James Fegan reading the rule aloud during La Russa's postgame press conference. Apparently, nobody on the Sox coaching staff knew the rule either, or if they did, they failed to speak up -- which is probably worse.

The $54 million closer is running the bases unnecessarily in the top of the 10th inning, when he should be preparing to pitch the bottom of the 10th inning. Then, he loses the game when the first two batters get hits off him. Did that happen because he had spent the previous 15 minutes running the bases? Maybe.

And you've got Leury Garcia getting thrown out trying to steal second as the trail runner in the top of the 10th. And you've got Billy Hamilton, he of the career 67 OPS+, being allowed to hit for himself with the go-ahead run on third base, when there are better options available on the bench. Anyone surprised that Hamilton struck out? Me neither.

These late-inning strategical gaffes are becoming a once-a-week occurrence. It's great that the Sox are 16-13 and in a three-way tie for first, but it's hard not to feel as though they should be 18-11 or 19-10.

Just what exactly are the Sox doing anyway in these close games? Good grief.

White Sox to sign outfielder Brian Goodwin

Brian Goodwin

With Eloy Jimenez, Luis Robert and Adam Engel all on the injured list, the White Sox have added some outfield help by signing Brian Goodwin to a minor league contract, according to multiple reports.

Goodwin had an opt-out clause in his minor league deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates, which he exercised Monday. If the Sox add him to the 40-man roster, his salary will be $1 million. I would expect that to happen.

Two years ago, the 30-year-old Goodwin had the best season of his career, when he batted .262/.326/.470 with 17 home runs, 29 doubles, 47 RBIs and seven stolen bases in 136 games for the Los Angeles Angels.

Last season, Goodwin was decent in 30 games for the Angels. He batted .242/.330/.463 with four home runs and 17 RBIs. The Cincinnati Reds acquired him in a midseason deal, and that didn't work out so well. 

Goodwin slumped to a .163 batting average in 20 games with the Reds, and that's how you end up on a minor league deal with the Pirates.

But the standard is not high for the Sox right now. They need some help with all these injuries, and they're hoping Goodwin and his left-handed bat can recapture what we saw in 2019. This is a career .250/.317/.455 batter, and that's at least better offense than you'll get from Leury Garcia or Billy Hamilton.

Is Goodwin a long-term solution to anything? No. Is this the big move Sox fans are clamoring for? Absolutely not.

But you have to be realistic here. The trade market doesn't heat up this early in the season, and there aren't a lot of impact players out there that you can acquire right now.

Not to mention, opposing GMs know the Sox are desperate for outfield help, and if Sox GM Rick Hahn calls, they are going to ask a high price. I'm not sure there's a fair trade Hahn can make right now, and I would caution against any panic moves -- the Sox are 16-12 and tied for first place after Tuesday's 9-0 win over the Reds, and nobody in the AL Central looks primed to run away.

Around Chicago, you hear some people calling for the Sox to acquire Kris Bryant from the Cubs. That suggestion literally makes me laugh out loud.

If Hahn calls the Cubs, you know who Jed Hoyer is going to ask for? Probably Michael Kopech. Maybe a package of Andrew Vaughn and Dylan Cease.

Sox fans, are you willing to make that move? Because that's what it's going to take. My answer is a resounding no.

Normally, I'm the first in line with the pitchforks and torches at Hahn's doorstep. But I think a minor acquisition such as Goodwin is fine for now. Try to stem the tide until we get to midseason, some teams fall out of it, and GMs become more willing to deal.

If anyone wants to criticize Hahn for not signing adequate depth in the offseason, I will join that chorus.

If anyone wants to criticize the Sox's draft-and-development arm for failing to provide adequate depth to plug these holes from within, I will join that chorus as well.

Remember when there was a so-called glut of talented minor league outfielders in the Sox system? Welp, none of Micker Adolfo, Blake Rutherford, Luis Gonzalez or Luis Alexander Basabe panned out. 

So now the Sox are in a fix. Cross your fingers that Goodwin can become the 2 WAR player he was in 2019.

White Sox 2B Nick Madrigal is outslugging some people he shouldn't be outslugging

Nick Madrigal

Let's play a game of name that White Sox player:

Player A: .313/.364/.413

Player B: .264/.370/.396

Player C: .202/.302/.374

Player D: .127/.333/.273

You may have noticed that Player A has the highest slugging percentage, while Player D has the lowest slugging percentage. I intentionally arranged the players in that order.

Would you believe noted singles hitter and king of the two-strike base hit Nick Madrigal is Player A? Good for Madrigal that he's off to a good start with the bat this season, and he is to be commended for that. 

But it's not good news for the Sox that Madrigal is outslugging Yoan Moncada (Player B), defending league MVP Jose Abreu (Player C), and the team's highest-paid player, Yasmani Grandal (Player D).

With Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert both out of the lineup with injuries until at least August,mMoncada, Abreu and Grandal better start producing more runs. It's time for them to hit some balls off the wall and over the wall, or this season in which the Sox have very high expectations is going to end in disappointment. 

It's great and all that Yermin Mercedes won AL Rookie of the Month, but it's preposterous to think a 28-year-old rookie is going to carry the middle of the lineup all season.

Luis Robert out 12 to 16 weeks ... Now what?

Luis Robert

Get ready to see a lot of Leury Garcia and Billy Hamilton in center field over the next month ... at least.

The White Sox had a successful 6-3 homestand, but I don't think anyone is celebrating. That's because center fielder Luis Robert crumbled in a heap while beating out an infield single in the first inning of Sunday's 5-0 loss to the Cleveland Indians. 

Robert was in tremendous pain, holding the area in front of his right hip while writhing around on the ground in shallow right field. After he was helped to his feet, he couldn't put any weight on his right leg and had to be carried into the dugout. 

Bad news was expected, and bad news was made official Monday, with the announcement that Robert will be out 12 to 16 with a hip flexor tear. It is not known yet whether Robert will undergo surgery, or if rest and rehabilitation will be enough. The timeline for return to baseball activities is expected to be the same, regardless of the treatment path chosen. 

This is a terrible break for Robert, who was off to a fine start this season. He was batting .316/.359/.463, and he was showing much improved plate discipline. Robert has had a weakness for breaking balls down and out of the zone in the past, but he's made significant strides in fixing that problem. Namely, he seems to be recognizing pitches better, and not swinging at as many pitches that are out of the zone. 

The injury is also a substantial blow to the Sox's playoff aspirations. They are already without left fielder Eloy Jimenez until at least August, and it doesn't sound as though Adam Engel will be returning anytime soon. 

Engel suffered a pulled hamstring the third week of March and hasn't played yet this season. The latest report indicates Engel is "back at square one" after a setback, and he will not return to baseball activities for three more weeks. 

This means three of the top four outfielders on the Sox roster are unavailable because of injury, and the other guy -- Adam Eaton -- is hobbling around right field on a sore knee. Eaton is in a terrible slump that has seen his slash line dip to .217/.301/.380. That being said, no matter how bad it gets for Eaton, if he can physically get out there, he has to play. The Sox don't have a lot of alternatives. 

In left field, Andrew Vaughn has gone 7 for his last 19 to pull his slash line up to .275/.373/.373, but he is still without a home run and has only one RBI. But despite his expected rookie struggles, he has to play. 

And that leaves Leury Garcia and Billy Hamilton to share center field until Engel gets healthy. 

Garcia: .200/.224/.246 

Hamilton: .176/.263/.176 

Gulp. Yeah, it's hard not to be discouraged knowing these players are going to get more playing time than they should in the weeks and months ahead. 

Back in the offseason, I thought the Sox needed to sign two outfielders to bolster their depth. They signed only Eaton, and now that weakness is coming home to roost.