Colas rejoins White Sox, goes 1-for-4 in loss to Blue Jays
In serious need of an offensive jolt, the White Sox recalled Oscar Colas from Class AAA Charlotte Tuesday.
Considering the 24-year-old right fielder was 13-for-33 with 6 home runs and 8 RBI over his last eight games at Triple-A, the timing was right.
Colas did have a bunt single in his return to the Sox, but it was all-star Luis Robert Jr. who once again did the heavy lifting.
Robert's mammoth 3-run homer in the sixth inning instantly erased the Blue Jays' 2-0 lead, but it wasn't enough.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s 2-run homer off reliever Joe Kelly in the eighth inning lifted Toronto to a 4-3 holiday win in front of 32,607 at Guaranteed Rate Field.
In the bottom of the eighth, Tim Anderson tripled with one out, bringing Robert to the plate. Instead of coming through again, the center fielder popped out and Eloy Jimenez flied out to end the inning.
"If you look at the pitch (to Robert), it was a good pitch to hit," manager Pedro Grifol said. "He just clipped it, and that happens. Nine out of 10 times, he's hitting that pitch hard somewhere. That's just a part of the game."
Lucas Giolito started for the White Sox and allowed 2 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks over 6 innings.
Colas was viewed as a Rookie of the Year candidate at the start of the season. That quickly cooled when he hit .211/.265/.276 with 1 home run and 7 RBI in 25 games while striking out 20 times in 84 plate appearances before being demoted.
In addition to focusing on swinging at strikes at Charlotte, Colas worked on his mental game.
"I think I was trying to do too much," Colas said through an interpreter. "I was battling with my anxieties. I think now, I'm in a better position."
Young players frequently have to adjust their mindsets to make it in the majors. Colas was no different.
"In the past I felt overwhelmed and I just put my head down," Colas said. "Now, I'm able to just sit down and think about it and analyze what happened or the situation. That helped me to get better."
Grifol had a long talk with Colas when he rejoined the White Sox Tuesday.
"It's staying in the moment and just understanding that that's the maturity," Grifol said. "And sometimes there comes a point where it's time to mature. You're in the major leagues, you're playing with the best in the world and you've got to control your emotions. He's a guy that plays with a lot of flair and a lot of emotion, and we're asking him to tone that down a little bit.
"I don't want him to stop playing with fire or emotion. I just want, when mistakes are made, to stay calm and just understand that we're going to learn from this and we're going to move on, but we're certainly not going to add to it."
Injury updates:
Out since June 10 after landing on the injured list with right elbow inflammation, relief pitcher Liam Hendriks is scheduled to throw off the mound at Guaranteed Rate Field this weekend.
Third baseman Yoan Moncada (back) is slowly making his way back to the White Sox's roster. He's been on the IL since June 15 with lower back soreness.
"Yoan's progressing decent," general manager Rick Hahn said. "You're going to see more and more activity out of him this week out on the field with the hope of a rehab assignment starting right after the (all-star) break. But we'll need him to continue to progress the way he has over the last week for that to happen."
Starting pitchers Mike Clevinger (right biceps inflammation) and Michael Kopech (shoulder) are both expected to rejoin the rotation shortly after the all-star break.