After closing a disappointing homestand with a rousing, come-from-behind victory, the Toronto Blue Jays hope to maintain their momentum on Monday night when they visit the Chicago White Sox.
Outscored 16-3 in the first two games of a weekend series against the New York Yankees, the Blue Jays rallied for a 10-9 victory Sunday to stop New York’s winning streak at nine games.
Toronto trailed 8-3 entering the bottom of the sixth.
“We don’t quit,” Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said. “We’re going to keep fighting until the end. Many teams, I’ve seen that when something happens like today, they’ll say, ‘OK, they’re just having a good year. Let’s move on.’ We didn’t move on.”
Toronto had lost three in a row after returning to a season-best 12 games over .500 with Wednesday’s 7-6 victory against Baltimore in 10 innings.
The Blue Jays are optimistic the nature of Sunday’s win can vault them to sustained success.
Since sweeping the White Sox in Toronto from May 31-June 2, the Jays are 8-8.
“Everybody knows the team that (the Yankees) have and the run that they’re on right now,” said the Blue Jays’ Teoscar Hernandez, who hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the seventh inning Sunday. “They’re a very good team. That’s why they’re in first place. We know that if we play good against them and can beat them, we’re in a pretty good spot.”
The White Sox are coming off a 4-2 road trip against Detroit and Houston. Chicago lost 4-3 to the Astros on Sunday night, surrendering two home runs that ultimately made the difference.
Chicago manager Tony La Russa said leadoff hitter and shortstop Tim Anderson would be activated from the injured list Monday. Anderson has been sidelined with a groin injury since May 29.
Meanwhile, third baseman Yoan Moncada is set to undergo re-evaluation Monday after missing much of the Houston series with left-hamstring tightness. Moncada hasn’t played since leaving in the third inning of Friday’s 13-3 loss.
Moncada is one of a number of struggling regulars as the team returns home for the first time since numerous White Sox fans chanted for the firing of manager Tony La Russa during a series loss to the Texas Rangers.
Chicago, which entered the season with hefty aspirations, is two games under .500.
“It’s easy to blame the manager when things aren’t going right, but at the end of the day, it’s on us,” Chicago first baseman Jose Abreu said. “We are the ones who are performing on the field. … We all support Tony because we all know at the end of the day it’s our responsibility to perform the way we can perform on the field. It’s not his responsibility.”
Right-hander Lance Lynn (0-0, 6.23 ERA) will get the call for Chicago in his second start after opening the season on the injured list. Lynn is 1-3 with a 4.21 ERA in nine career appearances against Toronto, including eight starts.
Righty Jose Berrios (5-2, 4.65) will start for the Blue Jays. Formerly with the Minnesota Twins, Berrios is 12-5 with a 3.12 ERA in 21 starts against the White Sox, his highest win total against any opponent.
–Field Level Media