Grandal makes instant impact for White Sox after being reinstated off injured list
After a few laughs, catcher Yasmani Grandal was back in the lineup Friday night as the White Sox opened a three-game interleague series against the Cubs at Guaranteed Rate Field.
"He looked great walking in," Sox manager Tony La Russa said. "The boys are fired up, everybody's talked to him. We all discussed his 1 inning, last bit of play to get ready for us. That was kind of funny."
Placed on the injured list July 6 with a torn left knee tendon that required surgery, Grandal played in 11 rehab games with Class AA Birmingham and AAA Charlotte and hit .303/.368/.424 with 1 home run and 3 RBI.
He was in Charlotte's lineup Thursday night, and Grandal was ejected after striking out in the first inning.
In his first 63 games with the White Sox this year, the switch-hitting Grandal slashed .188/.388/.436 with 14 home runs and 38 RBI. Even though he's missed almost half of the season, Grandal's 60 walks rank second on the Sox.
"I believe he sets a great example about strike zone discipline," La Russa said. "When we are at our best, if we swing at balls in the strike zone the contact we make produces. When we struggle it's mostly because we're chasing. He'll set a real good example and he'll have a positive affect."
Bringing more power back to the lineup as well, Grandal hit a 3-run homer against the Cubs in the third inning to pull the White Sox into a 6-6 tie and chase starter Keegan Thompson. He added a 2-run double in the fifth.
Lineup shuffle:
Originally in Friday night's lineup hitting fifth and playing second base for the Cubs, David Bote was scratched after spraining his right ankle during batting practice. Bote appeared to trip on a baseball while running off the field.
X-rays were negative and Bote will be reevaluated Saturday.
Matt Duffy moved from third base to second to replace Bote, Patrick Wisdom moved from left field to third and Ian Happ was added to the Cubs' starting lineup as the No. 5 hitter. He played left.
On his 30th birthday, Wisdom gave the Cubs the early lead over the Sox with a 3-run homer off Dallas Keuchel in the first inning.
Collins shipped out:
To clear a roster spot for Yasmani Grandal, catcher Zack Collins was optioned to Class AAA Charlotte Friday.
The White Sox's first-round draft pick (No. 10 overall) in 2016, Collins hit .202/.324/.331 with 4 home runs and 24 RBI in 72 games.
Sox pitchers had a 3.93 ERA when he was behind the plate and Collins threw out 12.8% (6-of-47) of attempted basestealers.
Seby Zavala remains with the White Sox as Grandal's backup.
"One thing, he earned that spot," manager Tony La Russa said of Collins. "It was a good competition in spring training and he earned it. And he's one of the guys, when you look at the first four months with some of the key guys being hurt, he was one of the guys that stepped in and got hits and defensively did the work.
"Here at the end, I think it's just a better matchup right now when we have a left-hander to be able to have Seby in there. Zack's come a long way. According to everybody that's seen his development, and based on what I've seen, he's been impressive. I know he's not happy he's getting sent down, but he's been impressive."