Davidson's first career grand slam lifts White Sox over Orioles
Before the Chicago White Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-1 Tuesday night at Guaranteed Rate Field, general manager Rick Hahn was asked about drafting young hitters that were able to make consistent contact.
"I don't get too hung up on the strikeout thing," Hahn said. "You will see what's more important to us is the understanding of the strike zone and doing damage on pitches within the zone. Trying the best to lay off pitches out of the zone."
Current Sox designated hitter/third baseman Matt Davidson has been striking out at an accelerated rate since 2014, when he was at Class AAA Charlotte.
The trend has continued in his first full season in the major leagues, but Davison does damage when he connects, as he showed in the sixth inning against Baltimore.
On a 3-2 pitch from Orioles starter Alec Asher, Davidson hit his first career grand slam on a 435-foot drive to left field.
"That one felt pretty good," Davidson said. "I knew it when I hit it. You don't really feel anything when you hit balls like that."
Davidson leads the White Sox with 12 home runs, but he also ranks first with 67 strikeouts in only 163 at-bats.
"I'm not happy to strike out," Davidson said. "I know it's high this year, but every year, we had a tough stretch with those No. 1 starters and I kind of got out of my rhythm and I was swinging at balls."
Derek Holland (5-6) started for the Sox and earned the win after pitching 6 innings and allowing 1 run on 8 hits and 2 walks.
Injury report:
The White Sox have nine players on the disabled list, but that number could be reduced this weekend when veteran right-hander James Shields rejoins the starting rotation.
Out since April 21 with a strained right lat, Shields made his third rehab start for Class AAA Charlotte Tuesday night and allowed 2 runs on 6 hits and 3 walks in 5 innings.
"Hopefully this winds up being his last one and we will be able to activate him in the not too distant future," general manager Rick Hahn said.
Carlos Rodon is also at Charlotte on a rehab stint after going down with left biceps bursitis in spring training.
The left-hander is scheduled to make his third start on Saturday, but his return to the White Sox remains uncertain.
"He's up over 90 pitches but continues to build strength and shake off some of the rust down there," Hahn said.
Relievers Nate Jones and Zach Putnam, who are both on the DL with elbow discomfort, and neither right-hander is currently throwing after experiencing pain symptoms.
Infielder Tyler Saladino is out with back spasms, and his return is also unknown.
"It's definitely getting better," Hahn said. "These things are tricky. We've been through this before with him where you can't rush too much on him until he feels fully comfortable. Hopefully at some point, we are likely going to send him out to Arizona to start ramping up activity while the team is on the road."