MINNEAPOLIS -- Meet the White Sox lineup for Sunday’s series finale against the Twins at Target Field, which looks a bit different than the original lineup presented earlier in the morning.
Tim Anderson and Leury Garcia both were scratches, with Anderson being scratched for a second straight day due to right wrist soreness. Anderson told reporters Sunday he woke up sore but was ready to go. That thought process changed when Anderson tried to swing in the cages.
When asked if he could have played Saturday, Anderson added, “I was sore yesterday.”
The injury came on a 0-1 Jose Berrios pitch in Anderson’s first at-bat Friday, which the shortstop fouled off on a checked swing. But it also hit his hand, with Anderson featuring a wrap on his right wrist and a bandage on his hand below the knuckle.
“If you remember when he was hit, he had a laceration. He has a little butterfly band-aid trying to keep that together,” White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. “The ball hit him [on the right index finger], caused some bruising, bruising is blood, blood travels, probably got into the wrist causing irritation.
“I can tell you from experience from a big blow, the impact takes his hand back into it, jams it a little somehow I’m sure. Remember, he was swinging, so if it hit him, jammed it a little bit, lacerated it. I’m giving you speculative conjecture here from personal experience. That’s maybe what caused the irritation. It’s inflammation.”
No X-rays have been taken of Anderson’s hand, but Renteria said Anderson is doing everything.
“He is better than he was yesterday,” Renteria said. “But he felt it a little bit, so we’ll keep treating him up during the game. Right now, making sure he’s dealing with it.”
Garcia was scratched with right shoulder soreness.
Anderson not thinking about Royals
If Anderson’s right wrist/hand allows, he will face the Royals Monday for the first time since the benches-clearing argument on April 17 after he was hit by a Brad Keller pitch in the backside. That came after Anderson celebrated a long home run earlier in the game with the bat flip heard around baseball.
Keller and Lucas Giolito match up on Tuesday, but Anderson isn’t thinking about Keller or Kansas City.
“No, I ain’t worried about them,” Anderson said. “I’m going to go out and play hard and continue to do what we’ve been doing. Treat it like any other team. I don’t care about that. That’s old. I’m going to keep working and we are going to try to go out and get some wins.”
Anderson looked at the whole experience coming from the Royals event as “positive stuff” so he doesn’t consider it a learning experience necessarily. As for a bat flip being on the way if he connects again, Anderson said it just depends on the time of the game.
“If it’s the right moment, it’s going to happen,” Anderson said. “That gets my team going. I’m going to continue to do what I have been doing and keep playing hard and not worry about anybody else out of this locker room.”
He said it
“Seby's a pretty sharp kid. I hope that this is an easy transition, albeit against a very good hitting ballclub.” -- Renteria on Seby Zavala’s first start behind the plate, preceded by Zavala talking to starter James McCann to glean information on Saturday