He finally limped off the field as the Chicago White Sox celebrated an 8-7 victory over the Miami Marlins on Saturday. He may add pop to the Marlins lineup that is needed without Stanton, but he has not played the field all year and will significantly hurt the team defense at first.
Advertisement
Ichiro Suzuki drove in a runner from second with a sacrifice bunt to help the Marlins transition to small ball without slugger Giancarlo Stanton.
“I know I didn’t because I was running”, Navarro said.
“They’re going to put him at first base”, Bowden said.
Koehler would retire 14 of the next 15 batters he faced until the sixth inning when the White Sox tied the game at 3 on a fortunate bounce that resulted in a run-scoring double by Abreu.
“He’s an available player”, Hill told reporters, via the South Florida Sun Sentinel. But that left the plate uncovered, and Robert Andino – who had been at second base – kept running and scored without a throw.
Finally, a ideal throw home from Christian Yelich was needed to secure the final out as Omar Narvaez attempted to score the would-be tying run on a single by Tyler Saladino. Obviously it’s not a very good sign when you see that.
“He got caught kind of watching it, ” manager Robin Ventura said. Other than Stanton, only three other players have double-digit home runs and nine players have yet to hit a homerun. And first base is traditionally considered the easiest position on the field, so maybe the Marlins feel confident Rodriguez could at least outperform Johnson in the stretch run.
That hit was one of only two allowed by Sale, the American League’s starting pitcher in this year’s All-Star Game, through the first four innings. The victor of the All-Star Game’s Home Run Derby last month is batting.244 with 70 RBIs after overcoming an extremely slow start.
“When I go out there and don’t get the job done, I’m going to be frustrated”, Sale said. “But we had a mission today – go up there and find a way to perform”. On Saturday, he allowed five earned runs on five hits and four walks in just four innings.
On deck: While the White Sox had a relatively successful weekend, things are about to get a lot tougher as they head to Cleveland after an off day Monday.
Fernandez, whose turn in the rotation was skipped as part of a plan to limit his innings, will make his next start Thursday in Cincinnati. “We’ve been trying to figure out ways to skip him to get him a breather”.
Advertisement
“I take pride in what I do and how I handle myself and how I handle my business, ” Sale said. Koehler’s 0.67 ERA since July 21 was the best among starters in the major leagues.
