Young pitchers get nod for White Sox, Tigers
The Chicago White Sox and visiting Detroit Tigers will be hard-pressed to follow up their explosive series opener with a suitable encore on Saturday evening.
After all, the American League Central rivals combined for 23 runs and 36 hits in Chicago's wild 12-11 win on Friday.
Tim Anderson's first career walk-off home run ended a contest that featured nine homers, although that number should have been 10 had it not been for a base-running blunder as Jose Abreu passed Anderson while rounding first in the seventh inning.
Abreu, however, hasn't done much wrong of late. He is 13-for-27 with two homers and 14 RBIs during his six-game hitting streak to raise his batting average from .174 to .260.
As for Anderson, his four-hit performance boosted his hitting streak to seven games while elevating his batting average to a robust .402.
"I want those moments. I want those moments," Anderson said of his game-winning homer.
Anderson and Abreu may not have a chance to flex their muscles at the plate on Saturday, as an impending snow storm is in the forecast.
"I hope it snows like 18 inches here and we don't even think about playing. We need a little bit of a break," Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. "Hopefully (Saturday) they'll call it early and we can relax a little bit and come back and play the next day."
White Sox left fielder Eloy Jimenez will not be playing on Saturday, regardless of weather.
Jimenez is scheduled to have an MRI after exiting the series opener in the third inning with a right ankle injury sustained while crashing into the wall in pursuit of Grayson Greiner's home run. X-rays were negative for a fracture on the 22-year-old Jimenez, who is one of baseball's top prospects.
"I feel a little bit of pain when I press on it, but I know it's because it's swollen a little bit. But I'm going to be good," Jimenez said while wearing a protective boot on his right foot.
Should the game go on as scheduled, the Tigers are expected to recall left-hander Ryan Carpenter from Triple-A Toledo to make the spot start.
Carpenter, who was scratched from his scheduled start Thursday for Toledo, posted a 1-2 mark with a 7.25 ERA and 1.70 WHIP in five starts and one relief appearance with the Tigers last season. The 28-year-old owns an 0-3 record with a 6.30 ERA in four starts with Toledo.
White Sox right-hander Reynaldo Lopez (1-3, 7.46 ERA), who will get the nod on Saturday, split his last two decisions despite recording a pair of quality starts.
Lopez allowed one run on five hits in six innings in a 5-1 win versus Kansas City before permitting three runs in six frames while striking out a season-high eight in a 4-3 setback to Detroit.
The 25-year-old owns a 1-2 mark with a 3.20 ERA in eight career starts versus the Tigers, although Nicholas Castellanos is 9-for-24 with five doubles against him.
Castellanos homered for the second straight contest and the Tigers went deep five times on Friday. Detroit has exploded for 12 homers in its last seven games after mustering just seven in its first 18.