Shortstop Tim Anderson missed his second straight start in the White Sox’ 5-2 loss to the Rangers on Monday night because of soreness in his right shoulder, the severity of which is believed to be minor.
“It’s not too bad,” Sox manager Pedro Grifol said.
For Anderson, getting a short break to freshen up physically and perhaps mentally might be a good thing. He was batting .250 with no home runs and had just two hits in his last 22 at-bats.
Anderson has been more subdued — less the energizer he has been in the past — perhaps because of the recent lack of production and the knee injury in April that sidelined him for three weeks after he got off to a good start. He also shared on a podcast last week that he has had challenges in his marriage and family life.
“Well, you have to manage life, and life sometimes throws different things at you,” Grifol said Monday. “Nobody in life is going to go without facing adversity. That’s just the way it is. When players face adversity, you have to be there for them, and I’m there for him. I’m the one guy who is constantly telling him, ‘You’re good. You’re going to find this thing.’ It could be one swing tonight [and] all of a sudden you’re going to find it and take off. He believes that as well, which is great.”
There are virtually no concerns about Anderson’s shoulder.
“He’s actually OK,” Grifol said. “He’s day-to-day. Reports were good. He’s still a little sore. So I’ll check with him after the game, after the round of treatments, [and] see what we’ll do [Tuesday].”
General manager Rick Hahn said there’s no reason why Anderson, when he’s back to feeling healthy, “can’t return to being that igniter at the top of our order and a stabilizer on defense for us.”
Back-to-back jacks, losses
The loss was the Sox’ second straight and their eighth in their last 11 games. Andrew Vaughn and Luis Robert Jr. hit back-to-back solo homers against lefty Andrew Heaney (5-4) in the sixth inning to cut the Rangers’ lead to 3-2. But after two walks by lefty Aaron Bummer in the seventh, Jonah Hein’s two-run single with two outs made it 5-2.
Gonzalez to IL, Rodriguez recalled
Infielder Romy Gonzalez landed on the 10-day injured list with inflammation in his right shoulder, and infielder Jose Rodriguez was recalled from Double-A.
Rodriguez, 22, figures to be a bench player before he returns to the minors. He was hitting .238/.274/.429 with nine homers, nine doubles, 25 RBI and 26 runs scored over 44 games with Birmingham this season.
Lynn on bereavement, Padilla recalled
Right-hander Lance Lynn went on the bereavement list and was replaced by right-hander Nick Padilla from Triple-A Charlotte. In relief of Tanner Banks (0-2 after allowing three runs in 3 ‰ innings), Padilla made his second appearance of the season, allowing four baserunners but striking out three in 1 ‰ scoreless innings.
Lynn, who tied the Sox record of 16 strikeouts in a 5-1 loss in Seattle on Sunday, will return in time for his next start.
This and that
Top shortstop prospect Colson Montgomery, sidelined since spring training with a back injury, started playing in Arizona and could join an affiliate in about two weeks, Hahn said.
• Hahn said Mike Clevinger could return as soon as his 15-day IL stay with biceps inflammation is over, “assuming he doesn’t have any recurrence or issues.”
