Another weekend, another big series in the American League Central for the first-place White Sox.
Last weekend, the Guardians came to Rate Field tied for second, three games back. After the Sox took two of three, the Tigers replaced the Guardians in second place. On Friday, the Sox open a three-game series against the host Tigers, who just took two of three from the Guardians to move 2½ games back of the Sox.
“We’re really good at segmenting series,” right-hander Davis Martin said Thursday after the Sox lost two of three to the visiting Reds. “We’re really good at bouncing back. There’s a reason we only have one four-loss streak. It’s a kick in the teeth, and you just pick yourself up tomorrow and do it again.”
The last time the Sox visited Detroit, they lost three straight, two by one run. And they’ll begin this series with a bullpen game, started by lefty Sean Newcomb, which doesn’t bode well for the rest of the series.
But they got a big break when the Tigers put outfielder Riley Greene on the injured list Wednesday with a strained right hamstring. He’s third on the team with 16 homers and an OPS+ of 126.
Injured Teel ramping up
Sox catcher Kyle Teel is coming along quickly in his latest recovery, this time from a sprained left ankle. Manager Will Venable said Teel is running at 80% speed and hopes to see him on a rehab assignment by the end of the month.
“He’s ramping up the running,” Venable said. “The hitting is going to be ahead of the running. Probably within the next couple days, he’ll take the training wheels off of everything as far as hitting, and he’ll be in there on Trajekt really getting healthy cuts off. I think the running is going to be a little bit behind.”
This is Teel’s third injury of the season. He strained his right hamstring in March during the World Baseball Classic, and while on a rehab assignment, he strained a ligament in his right knee. He made his season debut June 22, hit .191 in 19 games and injured his ankle July 20.
McDougal makes debut
Venable hasn’t had a problem putting rookie left-hander Hagen Smith in big spots. He had him make his major-league debut in the second inning Sunday after the rain delay, and he used him in the eighth inning Wednesday to hold a 3-0 lead.
“It just so happened that we’ve been in some tough spots and Hagen has been the best option,” Venable said.
Venable had been looking for a good spot to give rookie right-hander Tanner McDougal his first major-league appearance, and it came in the sixth inning Thursday with the Sox trailing 8-4. McDougal didn’t match Smith’s success, walking three, hitting a batter and allowing a run.
“Just couldn’t command the baseball,” Venable said. “We wasn’t able to find the zone. It just snowballed on him.”
Thorpe could be up soon
Right-hander Drew Thorpe, who’s on a rehab assignment after recovering from Tommy John surgery and an appendectomy, allowed one run and three hits in five innings and struck out six Wednesday in his first start at Triple-A Charlotte. Venable said Thorpe will be in the mix for a potential call-up later this month.
“I’m just really happy for him personally that he’s in a good spot and out there competing after such a tough road to get back,” Venable said. “He’s such a good guy and has worked so hard. And he’s getting good results, too. He’s pitching really well, so we’re excited about that and the opportunity to add a depth piece down the stretch.”
ON DECK
SOX AT TIGERS
Friday: Sean Newcomb (1-3, 2.66 ERA) vs. Jackson Jobe (1-0, 0.00), 5:40 p.m., CHSN, 1000-AM.
Saturday: Anthony Kay (9-5, 3.96) vs. Troy Melton (7-1, 1.46), 12:10 p.m., CHSN, 1000-AM.
Sunday: Sean Burke (7-6, 2.99) vs. Drew Anderson (4-4, 3.91), 12:40 p.m., CHSN, 1000-AM.
