Late thunder from Palka sparks Chicago White Sox to win
The more he plays in the present, the more it looks like Daniel Palka has cemented a future spot with the Chicago White Sox.
"Our scouts did a really good job on him when they recommended bringing him in here," said Rick Hahn, Sox general manager. "I think Palka plays a role on a very good club. That role, we're still learning about."
At the least, the White Sox can keep Palka on the bench and have him pinch hit in the ninth inning.
The rookie outfielder has been lethal late in games this season, and that trend continued Monday afternoon in the White Sox's 4-2 win over the Tigers at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Trailing Detroit 2-1, Palka led off the ninth inning with a home run to tie it. Matt Davidson followed with a 2-run homer to end it as the Sox (56-82) won for the eighth time in 11 games and moved past Detroit into third place in the AL Central.
Claimed off waivers from the Minnesota Twins on Nov. 4, Palka ranks third among AL rookies with 21 home runs.
He also leads the major leagues with 6 homers in the ninth inning.
"I mean, there are lots of good things, but the consistency still isn't what I want it to be," said Palka, who is batting .236. "I haven't played average wise; I'm not happy with that. But overall I feel like the positives have outweighed the negatives. The negatives are pretty simple fixes and adjustments."
In his second straight stellar start, Reynaldo Lopez pitched 7 innings and allowed 1 run on 4 hits.
"It was a very good outing, probably one of the best of the season," Lopez said through a translator. "The last couple of outings I've been trying to mix a little bit more of my pitches, trying to throw more of the changeup, curveball, slider.
"I'm using my fastball, of course, but I've been feeling very confident and comfortable with all my pitches."
Cordell gets call:
With Avisail Garcia dealing with more right-knee discomfort and Ryan LaMarre out with a sore right hip, the White Sox recalled outfielder Ryan Cordell from Class AAA Charlotte on Monday.
The 26-year-old Cordell was sidelined from April 17 to July 23 after breaking his collarbone in a game against Rochester.
He had a productive August with Charlotte, batting .302 with 3 home runs and 18 RBI.
"I missed a lot of time last year, and this year I came into spring training feeling really good physically and unfortunately a week and a half in I had the injury," Cordell said. "You learn from every experience, and I learned a lot from it.
"Just coming back and having that fire and that desire to make every at-bat count, every moment out on the field count, kind of showed me a new way to approach the game. It was a good year coming back after a tough injury."
Cordell was acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers for reliever Anthony Swarzak in a trade on July 26, 2017. He played in just 68 games last season while dealing with a back injury.
Manager Rick Renteria said Cordell can play the corner spots but is likely to be used in center field.
Dunning update:
Sidelined since late June with a moderate right-elbow sprain, promising pitching prospect Dane Dunning is on a throwing program in Arizona, and he might be able to pitch in the Arizona Fall League.
"Everything on Dane right now is optimistic," general manager Rick Hahn said. "Everything is very positive and surgery's not being discussed at this time."
After opening the season with high Class A Winston-Salem, Dunning was 5-2 with a 2.76 ERA in 11 starts for AA Birmingham.
On deck:
GM manager Rick Hahn said Class AA Birmingham relief pitcher Jose Ruiz is going to join the roster Tuesday.
In 43 appearances with Birmingham and high A Winston-Salem this season, Ruiz was 3-1 with a 3.07 ERA and 16 saves.