Jose Abreu hit a pair of two-run homers -- one in the first inning and another in the ninth -- to lead the White Sox to a 9-5 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Monday.
Jose Abreu
For Abreu, the home runs were his eighth and ninth of the season, and he finished the game 3 for 4 with a walk and four RBIs. The power numbers have been down for Abreu this season -- he has only 28 RBIs -- so it would be nice to see him start hitting the ball out of the park a little more often.
Through the first 13 days in June, Abreu, Jake Burger and AJ Pollock are the only Sox players with a home run this month.
Not to mention, the rest of the core of the Sox lineup is mostly absent right now:
Tim Anderson: injured
Yasmani Grandal: injured
Eloy Jimenez: injured
Yoan Moncada: batting .137 with a .399 OPS
Luis Robert: has only two extra-base hits in June (both doubles), although he was 2 for 5 with two singles in Monday's win
But, point being, a lot is on Abreu's shoulders right now with other key players either injured or not producing up to their capabilities.
The other big news Monday night was Lance Lynn's return to the starting rotation. The veteran right-hander had not pitched yet this season after having right knee surgery during spring training.
Lynn received a no-decision, going 4.1 innings. He allowed three runs on 10 hits. He struck out four and walked none. He threw 52 of his 88 pitches for strikes.
The 10 hits are the most Lynn has allowed in a single game since joining the Sox, so the rust was evident. In particular, Lynn struggled to retire left-handed batters.
The Detroit lefties combined to go 9 for 15 against Lynn, while righties were only 1 for 6. Something to keep an eye on in Lynn's next start, which no doubt will be against a better lineup than the Tigers.
The Sox are 28-31.
No comments:
Post a Comment