Anderson takes another step forward for Chicago White Sox
In late July, Chicago White Sox general manager Rick Hahn was asked if he was thinking about sending struggling shortstop Tim Anderson to Class AAA Charlotte for a confidence boost.
"I don't think that's going to accomplish much at this time," Hahn said.
The patience has been paying off, and Anderson continued Wednesday night in the Sox's 7-1 win over the Houston Astros at Guaranteed Rate Field to look like the standout he was as a rookie in 2016.
Batting .232 when the calendar flipped to August, Anderson's average is up to .242 after he had a 2-run homer and an RBI double in the Sox's second straight victory over Houston.
"I'm playing like myself," Anderson said after extending his hitting streak to seven games.
He hasn't been himself for much of the season, for several reasons.
His best friend and his daughter's godfather, Branden Moss, was murdered in May, and Anderson started wearing glasses in June to help with his erratic hitting and fielding.
Slowly but surely, Anderson is coming around while trying to prove he is the White Sox's starting shortstop of the future.
"He's settling back into who you've seen last year when he got here and what we thought you might start to see a little earlier," manager Rick Renteria said. "It's coming now. Right now it looks like he's feeling pretty comfortable at the plate, and he is who he is. He's playing a little more like what we anticipated.
"I think that time is doing a lot for him in terms of healing and just trying to concentrate on playing baseball. I think he's starting to be able to separate what's going on, compartmentalize it, start getting back to the game of baseball."
Bouncing back from a disastrous outing at Boston in his last start, when he allowed 7 runs on 7 hits in 1⅔ innings, Miguel Gonzalez (6-10) held hard-hitting Houston to 1 run on 5 hits over 8 innings to get the win Wednesday.
Minor deal:
The White Sox acquired minor-league pitcher Steve Johnson from the Baltimore Orioles o Wednesday for cash considerations.
A 29-year-old righty, Johnson was 1-2 with a 5.30 ERA in 19 games (5 starts) for Class AAA Norfolk. He will report to AAA Charlotte.
Sox honor Steel:
Before Wednesday night's game against Houston, the Sox honored the Chicago Steel, the 2017 Clark Cup champions out of the United States Hockey League.
Steel captain Marc Johnstone "shot" the ceremonial first pitch, flipping a perfect wrister into Sox catcher Kevan Smith's glove.