New day for Anderson, another loss for Chicago White Sox
There is one thing about Chicago White Sox manager Rick Renteria - he doesn't dwell on yesterday's disappointments.
In Tuesday night's 4-2 loss to the Royals at Guaranteed Rate Field, Tim Anderson lined to third baseman Rosell Herrera in the sixth inning and assumed the ball was caught.
It wasn't, and Anderson was an easy out at first base after failing to leave the batter's box.
Renteria immediately benched Anderson, but the Sox's shortstop was back in the lineup Wednesday night in a 10-5 loss to Kansas City.
While he was initially upset with Anderson's lack of action, Renteria didn't let it linger.
"Yesterday was yesterday," he said. "That was a unique situation that developed. Obviously, we had our conversation last night and that was it. It was over."
In his second full season, the 25-year-old Anderson is still learning the game. But Renteria also has benched veterans Avisail Garcia, catcher Welington Castillo (now suspended) and Leury Garcia for failing to run hard this season.
"I'll be real clear, I don't care if you're an older player or a younger player, I've done it with everybody," Renteria said. "And every single one of them has accepted that this is the way we play the game here. Will that change? There are going to be unique situations in which you have to have a conversation.
"Will I always yank somebody, probably, as we continue to move forward? Not necessarily, but there always be a conversation to deal with the particular situation."
Dylan Covey (4-7) started for the Sox on Wednesday and had another rough outing, allowing 7 runs (4 earned) on 5 hits and 3 walks in 4⅓ innings. Over his last 7 starts, Covey is 1-5 with an 8.90 ERA.
When he was on a roll in late May and early June, Covey was relaxed on the mound and his sinker was an effective pitch. That hasn't been the case over the last six weeks.
"The sinker is moving best when I'm free and easy and don't tense up," Covey said. "My command was a little off tonight and my strike percentage was not where I needed it to be. I need to be free and easy and let my mechanics take over."
Physically fit:
Fatigue is commonplace for starting pitchers at this stage of the season, especially for ones in their first full major-league seasons.
Reynaldo Lopez fits that profile, and the White Sox's right-hander has looked a little ragged while going 0-4 with an 8.72 ERA over his last 4 starts.
Lopez gets the ball against the Royals on Thursday afternoon, and he is not complaining of a dead arm.
"We had a conversation with him to see how he was doing," manager Rick Renteria said. "He said that physically he feels great, there's nothing wrong with him from a physical aspect. He truly felt like he wasn't focused on doing his job."