White Sox hold out Anderson (sore legs) again

In Friday night's thrilling 7-5 win over the Rays in 11 innings at Tampa Bay, White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson always seemed to be on the move.

Anderson was 3-for-6 and he scored 4 runs. He tied the game with a home run in the ninth inning and gave the Sox the lead for good with an RBI single in the 11th.

Sore legs kept Anderson out of the lineup Saturday and Sunday, and he was held out again Monday night at Toronto.

"He had that great game Friday, running all over the place," Sox manager Tony La Russa said. "We just want to get rid of the soreness for certain before he goes back out there."

La Russa hinted Anderson is likely to miss Tuesday's game against the Jays as well.

"Not going to push it," La Russa said. "I wouldn't use him in the game, maybe an extreme emergency where he's the only guy left to go up there and take a swing without having to run hard. Just don't want to do anything foolish."

The White Sox have had a comfortable lead in the AL Central since July 1, so they do have the luxury of resting players now with an eye toward the playoffs.

La Russa said that's not the reason Anderson has been watching from the dugout.

"His legs are such an important part of his defense, baserunning, everything else," La Russa said. "What do you gain by sending him out there and telling him to be careful? The direct answer is the lead has nothing to do with him not playing, because we're in to winning as many as we can as quickly as we can, and have too much respect for the game and our opponents we are playing and the ones that are chasing us."