CHICAGO -- Yoán Moncada wasn’t about to divulge his full array of 2019 goals following the White Sox 5-1 victory over the Twins on Saturday night at Guaranteed Rate Field.
But after the South Siders broke a four-game losing streak and improved to 4-12 since the All-Star break, Moncada proudly admitted to checking one of the boxes on his list.
“That was one of my first goals this season, just to reach at least 20 homers,” Moncada said through interpreter Billy Russo. “And it’s something that made me feel good. It’s special.”
Moncada reached that mark for the first time in his young career by launching a solo home run that traveled a projected 432 feet, according to Statcast, off Twins starter Martin Perez in the fifth inning. He added two doubles, giving him 21 on the season, drove in two to raise his RBI total to 59 and scored twice.
His home run was his fourth against a left-handed pitcher in 2019 after hitting two against southpaws all last season.
“Honestly, I don’t worry about who is going to be the pitcher, if it’s a righty or a lefty,” Moncada said. “I have a lot of confidence in both sides of the plate right now.”
Even with Moncada posting his 10th game with three or more hits this season, it might have been his error in the third inning that subtly turning the tide in the contest. With Byron Buxton on second base and Max Kepler on first and two outs, Jorge Polanco lofted a popup down the left-field line against White Sox starter Ivan Nova. Moncada had moved to cover third with Buxton trying to steal the base but seemed to have trouble picking up the baseball after that first move.
Moncada tried to make a basket catch, but the ball fell fair for an error and allowed Buxton to score the tying run. When Nova escaped a bases-loaded situation by retiring Eddie Rosario to end the half-inning, White Sox manager Rick Renteria had a full-team talk in the dugout before his club came to the plate. His words seemed to immediately take hold, as Renteria left the group following the brief comments and moved to the other side of the dugout.
“No, just talking to the guys,” Renteria said. “Making sure we were clear on how we're doing things. They know we're better than that. That's all it was. Just reminding them that we're better than that.”
“He just told us to keep playing good out there,” Moncada said. “Do your job and enjoy the game. Don’t get frustrated.”
Renteria explained Moncada’s error was a tough play, especially coming over from a bit of a shift and having to cover on the stolen base. But there was a message beyond the physical action.
“When we talk to them, they understand that we have a certain level of effort that we want to give and a focus,” Renteria said. “That's what we were talking about at the end of the inning.”
Nova turned in another top-notch effort on the mound, as the veteran right-hander limited the Twins to one unearned run on two hits over six innings as an encore for his complete-game victory over the Marlins on Monday. By his admission and according to Renteria, Nova hit a wall after the sixth and gave way after 88 pitches to Evan Marshall, Aaron Bummer and Alex Colome.
With a 3.16 ERA in July, marking his lowest monthly ERA with the White Sox, Nova could be a candidate to be moved to a contending team looking to fill out its rotation prior to Wednesday’s 3 p.m. CT Trade Deadline. He also has value as part of the White Sox front five and in their clubhouse.
“My focus is here,” said Nova, who struck out four and walked one. “Whatever is going to happen is going to happen, but I cannot think about that.
“I want to stay here. The No. 1 thing is I want to help the team to win games. If I get traded, OK, but it's nothing I'm anticipating nor asking for.”