Tigers complete three-game sweep of White Sox
It's difficult to find positives after a three-game sweep, but there were two for the Chicago White Sox in Sunday's 3-1 loss to the Detroit Tigers at Guaranteed Rate Field.
The first was Matt Davidson, who provided all of the offense with a home run in the second inning. It was the first time he cleared the fences since a May 13 game at Wrigley Field.
"I didn't realize it was that long," Davidson said. "It felt that long though. Home runs come in bunches, and I definitely lost a little step with that DL thing. My timing was off pretty bad for a week or so, but I'm feeling pretty comfortable back in the box and excited to start contributing with the team."
Davidson was on the disabled list from May 24-June 5 with back tightness.
James Shields gave up 3 runs on 6 hits and 4 walks in 6 innings. The Sox right-hander has pitched 6 innings or more in 11 straight starts.
"It's very important to try to eat as many innings as you possibly can," Shields said. "Early on in the season, we were ruining our bullpen by not going deep into games. My main focus is to go as deep as I possibly can. I had a lot more walks today than I really wanted to.
"I felt I could've gone deeper in the game if I would've minimized some walks. But consistency's the name of the game."
Take a break:
The White Sox could have used Jose Abreu's bat in Sunday's loss to the Tigers, but the probable all-star got the day off.
"Needs a break, needs a day," manager Rick Renteria said. "We've been riding him a lot, and you know that he plays every single day. He hates DHing. I tried to give him a little bit of a blow yesterday as a DH. He needs a spell, so today's a good enough day as any. He deserves it, he's earned it." Abreu ranks second in the major leagues with 26 doubles and leads the Sox in batting (.284) and RBI (41). He is second with 11 home runs.
Rough debut:
In his first start of the season after being sidelined since spring training with right forearm soreness, top pitching prospect Alec Hansen pitched 4⅔ innings for Class AA Birmingham Saturday night and allowed 6 runs on 9 hits and 1 walk.
Hansen also had 4 strikeouts. Pitching for low Class A Kannapolis, high A Winston-Salem and Birmingham last year, Hansen piled up 191 strikeouts, the highest total in minor-league baseball since 2011.