Rotation adjustment made for road trip
Danks pushed back to start against Royals
CHICAGO -- The White Sox made a slight adjustment to their rotation alignment for the upcoming Twins series, but it does not appear to be influenced by the Minor League callups expected to be made on Tuesday when rosters expand.
Manager Robin Ventura said Sunday morning that his team will use Chris Sale, Carlos Rodon and most likely Jeff Samardzija during the three-game set at Target Field. John Danks had been pitching after Rodon in the rotation, but with a trip to Kansas City following Minnesota in this six-game road trip, the switch makes sense.
Danks has a 9-2 career record with a 2.69 ERA over 20 starts against the Royals, not to mention a 4-2 mark with a 2.27 ERA at Kauffman Stadium. His record drops to 7-15 lifetime with a 5.76 ERA in 29 starts against the Twins, along with a 2-7 mark and 7.97 ERA at Target Field.
That slight adjustment was made possible by Monday's off-day. But Ventura stuck to his words from Saturday, in that he wants Rodon to stay on his regular turn during September of his rookie season.
"Carlos deserves to keep going and see where he's at and keep developing," Ventura said. "So, we are not going to move him out of there. He's turned the corner as far as going through a lineup and understanding what he needs to do to win the game."
September callups certainly will include Erik Johnson, who has had a tremendous bounceback 2015 campaign after a dismal 2014 performance at both the Major League and Minor League levels. Johnson, who was scratched from his Sunday start for Triple-A Charlotte, has an 11-8 record with a 2.37 ERA over 132 2/3 innings. He has yielded just 108 hits and 41 walks while fanning 136 and holding the opposition to a .224 average.
Although Ventura wouldn't name Johnson specifically, he acknowledged a starter will be part of the September additions. That generic starter will get a chance to be part of the rotation.
"At some point, he will start," said Ventura of the starter believed to be Johnson. "There's not much reason to bring a guy up here if he's not going to be able to start a game. So, he will get mixed in at some point."