Stiever recalled, pitches, then gets optioned

CHICAGO -- Right-handed pitcher Jonathan Stiever, the No. 7 White Sox prospect, per MLB Pipeline, was recalled from the team’s alternate training site in Schaumburg, Ill., prior to Sunday’s game, with infielder Danny Mendick optioned to Schaumburg.

Stiever, 23, pitched behind Michael Kopech in the series finale against the Rangers. Relievers Codi Heuer, Aaron Bummer and Liam Hendriks were unavailable, as was made clear by manager Tony La Russa in Saturday’s postgame press conference, and Evan Marshall was not with the team due to a funeral he was attending in Arizona.

“Every time he had a chance to throw, I wanted to watch him because he's very highly regarded. I can see why,” said La Russa of Stiever. “Stuff, Major League stuff, and he's got several pitches, so he's a starter candidate, [he] competes."

Stiever entered in the sixth inning with a seven-run lead and allowed four straight singles, getting replaced by Garrett Crochet without recording an out. Stiever was charged with three earned runs, two of which came in after his exit. Following the 8-4 White Sox win, he was optioned back to Schaumburg. The White Sox will announce a corresponding move prior to Tuesday's series opener against the Tigers in Chicago.

Mendick, 27, was hitting .375 with five walks, two RBIs and two runs scored in eight games this season.

“This is one of the most miserable parts of managing. Danny is a really good, winning player, and this is the second time now he's been told he's not on the roster,” La Russa said. “He's got high respect value in this clubhouse because he'll do anything to help us win.

“But the season goes on, and you've got to cover the current circumstances. The worst thing that could happen today is that we have a chance to win a game and you don't have enough pitching to support it. You look at who you have available, and he's got an option. At some point, he'll run out of options, and he won't be able to be sent out.”

Keuchel working well
Dallas Keuchel wanted to work deeper than his six innings and 93 pitches thrown in Saturday’s 2-1 victory over the Rangers. But the veteran left-hander deemed his effort “a step in the right direction” in terms of feeling in routine on the mound. Keuchel fanned two but recorded 11 outs via the ground ball.

“I’m kind of honing it all in,” Keuchel said. “Would like to get some lefties out, dinks and dunks, broken-bat hits. That’s unfortunate, but I felt a lot better. So hopefully [I'm] getting on the right track and starting to find my groove.

“I was shooting for May, mid-May to be locked in, but maybe this outing will lock me in as well and push me forward. Still want to reach the 100-pitch mark or the seventh-inning mark, those are two big keys to me. I was able to command the zone really well and, as I move forward, hopefully the later-innings command will still be there as well. That’s when, you know, I’m really, really locked in.”

Third to first

• Billy Hamilton recorded his 58th career outfield assist -- and the first of his career from left field -- during Saturday’s victory. He threw out Willie Calhoun in the seventh, as Calhoun tried to score from second on Nick Solak’s single.

• Yermín Mercedes leads all Major League rookies with 28 hits, the second-highest total in White Sox history by a rookie in March/April behind teammate José Abreu (31 in 2014), per Elias.

He said it
“Those guys who wear 12 for the White Sox, they always seem to be getting into fracases.” -- A.J. Pierzynski, the FS1 analyst on the White Sox broadcast Saturday, talking about Adam Eaton’s one-game suspension which is currently pending appeal. Pierzynski also wore jersey No. 12 during his successful and sometimes controversial eight-year-run with the White Sox