Before topping Tigers, White Sox place Covey on DL
The Chicago White Sox's injury count increased to eight on Friday when starting pitcher Dylan Covey landed on the 10-day disabled list with a strained left oblique.
Sox starters Carlos Rodon (left biceps bursitis), James Shields (right lat strain) and Covey are down, not that manager Rick Renteria is complaining.
“I think things happen to everybody in the game of baseball,” Renteria said. “We're not unique in terms of injuries and things of that nature. You've just got to keep plugging away. Hopefully, the guys that come in do what they need to do and everyone just keeps picking each other up.”
Mike Pelfrey took Shields' rotation spot on April 22, and the big right-hander made his seventh start for the Sox in Friday night's rain-delayed game against the Detroit Tigers at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Pelfrey delivered one of his better outings since joining the White Sox via Class AAA Charlotte after being released by the Tigers at the end of spring training.
Pitching 5 innings, Pelfrey allowed 2 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits while striking out 7, his highest total with the Sox.
Avisail Garcia (3-for-5) continued his strong start to the season in the 8-2 win over Detroit, putting the White Sox ahead 3-1 on a bases-loaded triple with 2 outs in the third inning.
Melky Cabrera added a 3-run homer in the eighth.
Solid showing:
Class AAA Charlotte starter Lucas Giolito was riding a confidence boost on Friday, one day after pitching a 7-inning no-hitter in Game 1 of a doubleheader vs. Syracuse.
“I walked three batters and that is not something I want to be doing,” Giolito said. “The walk numbers are a little too high for my liking. There's still plenty to work on but everything felt pretty solid last night. I felt like I repeated my delivery well, I executed more pitches. Especially when I'd fall behind in the count, I'd execute quality pitches and you can get yourself out of bad situations doing that.”
Roster moves:
Starting pitcher Dylan Covey went on the disabled list Friday with a left oblique strain and reliever Juan Minaya came up from Class AAA Charlotte to take his roster spot.
Covey (0-4, 8.12 ERA) was limited to 6 starts with Oakland's Class AA Midland farm team in 2016 before missing the rest of the season with a right oblique strain.
“It's kind of looking like it might not be nearly as bad as it was last year,” said Covey, a Rule 5 Draft acquisition from the A's. “I'm staying optimistic and taking it day by day.”
Minaya was 1-0 with a 1.23 ERA in 10 appearances with Charlotte. The right-hander was on the DL from March 30-April 26 with a right abdominal strain.
“It took a little while but we're going through the process,” Minaya said. “We have to be patient and do everything they say to get healthy.”