Sox, not Cubs, let Jimenez achieve his Wrigley dream
Reaching Wrigley Field was always the dream.
"That was my goal when I signed with them," said Eloy Jimenez, who joined the Cubs at the age of 17. "I have the chance to play here and I feel really good."
He is 22 now and - side note - he plays for the crosstown White Sox.
Nearly two years after being traded from the North Side to South Side in the Jose Quintana deal, Jimenez made it to Wrigley.
His night didn't get off to an auspicious start. Jimenez came up with the bases loaded and one out in the first inning and grounded into a double play.
It ended on the highest of notes.
Locked in a 1-1 tie in the ninth innning, James McCann led off with a single against Cubs reliever Pedro Strop.
That brought Jimenez to the plate, and he hit a 1-0 fastball into the left-field bleachers to lift the Sox to a 3-1 win.
Jimenez's size and strength were frequently mentioned during a stretch of 5 home runs in 8 games heading into the Cubs series.
It is sure to come up again ater the rookie left fielder broke his bat on the homer off Strop.
Before the game, Jimenez downplayed any jitters.
"It's another series," he said. "All the emotions are there, but I prepared for the game and I'll be ready to do my job."
After Kyle Schwarber homered on Sox starter Ivan Nova's first pitch in the first inning, the White Sox tied the game in the sixth.
Leury Garcia led off with a double against Cole Hamels and Tim Anderson followed with a single. Garcia scored on shortstop Javy Baez's throwing error.
Nova pitched 5 innings and allowed 1 run on 4 hits before relievers Aaron Bummer, Jace Fry, Evan Marshall and Alex Colome shut the Cubs out the rest of the way.
In and out:
Monday's day off helped Yoan Moncada, but apparently not enough to put him back in the White Sox's starting lineup.
Moncada was held out for the fifth time in six games with tightness in his upper back.
Before Tuesday night's game against the Cubs, manager Rick Renteria said sitting the switch-hitting Moncada was due more to left-hander Cole Hamels starting for the home club.
"To be honest, it's more of a precautionary measure on my part to keep him from hitting from the right-handed side," Renteria said. "I'm really hoping that he'll be available in an emergency and/or pinch-hitting situation. But I'm really expecting and hoping that he'll be ready to go by tomorrow and give us a start."
Moncada wound up playing the series opener at Wrigley, entering the game in the bottom of the sixth inning as a defensive replacement. He looked uncomfortable in the top of the seventh against Hamels and struck out looking.
In the eighth, Moncada looked just fine while starting an inning-ending double play.
Star search:
Representing Class AA Birmingham in the Southern League all-star game Monday night, center fielder Luis Robert was 2-for-3 with an RBI double and RBI triple.