A good sign for the Chicago White Sox: Tim Anderson appears to be heating up.
The team’s leadoff sparkplug had four hits and three runs in Chicago’s 12-3 win over host Detroit on Friday night. The teams will play the third game of the four-game series on Saturday afternoon.
Anderson had scored just one run in his previous 15 games before Friday. Earlier in the week, Anderson promised it was just a matter of time before he regained his stroke.
“Everyone around knows my work ethic and knows the goals and the focus. I’m nothing but one swing away from setting this (stuff) on fire,” Anderson told MLB.com. “It’s always having that mentality and playing that game where I might look like trash right now, but at the end of the day, I’m the best player on the field every time I step on the field. I think everybody knows that.
“It’s just about giving it time to click and just more so understanding the game.”
Anderson, who raised his average to .264, is 4-for-9 against Detroit’s starting pitcher on Saturday, Michael Lorenzen.
Lorenzen (2-2, 4.08 ERA) gave up three home runs in his latest start. The right-hander allowed five runs and five hits in 5 2/3 innings to the Kansas City Royals on Monday and wound up with a no-decision as the Tigers won in extra innings.
In his three previous outings, Lorenzen gave up a total of two runs in 20 innings.
“I’ve made plenty of mistakes in the past three starts and was able to get away with them. (Monday), I wasn’t. That’s baseball,” Lorenzen said.
The last of the long balls came off the bat of Jackie Bradley Jr., his only home run this season.
“The ball that Jackie Bradley hit out frustrated (Lorenzen) because it tied the game,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said afterward. “A little bit of good, a little bit of struggle for him. But we trust him to go back out there again in five days.”
Hinch missed Friday’s game to attend his daughter’s high school graduation. He should be back on the bench on Saturday.
Jesse Scholtens (0-2, 2.25) is slated to make his first major league start for the White Sox. Scholtens pitched five innings of long relief on Monday against the Cleveland Guardians, taking a loss after allowing one run and two hits.
He made seven starts for Triple-A Charlotte this season, going 2-2 with a 3.99 ERA. Scholtens made 160 minor league appearances (111 starts) prior to his promotion. He pitched two games in relief for Chicago in April, then returned to the majors ahead of the Monday outing.
“He pounded the strike zone and made some good pitches when he needed to,” White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said of Scholtens’ work against the Guardians. “He made some good pitches behind in the count, too. He’s calm, he’s got a nice mix. He threw some good breaking balls, but that’s not the best I’ve seen his curveball, and his curveball is a good pitch for him.”
Scholtens is likely to pitch the bulk of the game on Saturday, though Grifol could use an opener.
“We have to wait and see what projected lineups come our way in Detroit and play it by ear,” Grifol said.
–Field Level Media