Hendriks credits wife for fixing tipping issue

CHICAGO -- Liam Hendriks was talking to his wife, Kristi, as he drove home after this past Saturday’s rough outing against the Yankees when she diagnosed her husband’s recent mound problems.

“She was like, ‘Yeah, you are tipping,’” Hendriks said. “Having that conversation with her, I was like, ‘I hope it’s tipping because tipping is the easiest thing to fix.’ If it’s something mechanical, if it’s something else, those are the hard things to fix.

“Turns out she was right, which [ticks] me off to no end. She’s always right.”

Hendriks has been almost exactly what the White Sox envisioned when they brought him aboard via free agency this past offseason. Entering Wednesday, he has 27 saves and 85 strikeouts over 51 innings, helping bring a little attitude to the back end of the bullpen.

The only issue for Hendriks has come via the 11 home runs he's allowed, representing his largest total since a career-high 17 in 2012, when the right-hander worked as a starter for the Twins. Seventeen of his 22 runs allowed have come via the home run, including four runs he allowed to the Yankees in the ninth inning of the Field of Dreams Game last Thursday in Dyersville, Iowa, and Joey Gallo’s two run blast in the 10th inning Saturday.

But that’s where the pitch tipping comes in relation to Hendriks’ struggles against the Yankees. He took his wife’s advice, studied video with the White Sox coaching staff and made that little adjustment leading to him striking out the side in a 5-2 victory over the A’s on Monday.

“That's why I was really happy to get up on Sunday and warm up on Sunday, so I could actually go through it,” Hendriks said. “Because the first time I warmed up, I didn't feel great. Second time I warmed up, I was able to make a little bit more of an adjustment to where I needed to be, and the ball was coming out well.

“Even if you look at the metrics of it, gravity took hold of a lot less of the ball. I was getting less horizontal movement and it was staying in the vertical plane a lot better, which is where I've been trying to get to all year and maybe this is the thing I needed to have.

“You have teams out there using specific cameras purely based on finding if there’s a mechanical hitch in there that something is different,” Hendriks added. “It’s wild the capabilities they’ve got. It keeps you honest a lot more as a pitcher. You can’t get too far down the rabbit hole.”

White Sox happy to hear Bassitt is recovering
Chris Bassitt tweeted thanks to the staff of the White Sox and A’s and their front office and owners for the support his family received after Bassitt was struck in the face by Brian Goodwin's 100.2 mph line drive in the second inning of Tuesday’s contest.

“God is good. Can’t wait to get back!” tweeted Bassitt, who also thanked Rush University Medical Center and their staff.

According to a release from the Athletics, Bassitt received stitches for two facial lacerations and was diagnosed with a displaced tripod fracture in his right cheek requiring surgery. The White Sox were simply glad to hear Bassitt was recovering, including Hendriks, who pitched with the right-hander in Oakland.

“Kristi was in the stands with his wife, and they were able to get down to the ambulance and she rode with him to the hospital. Luckily Kristi was here to kind of get her down,” Hendriks said. “I was texting him this morning, just his normal personality, joking around. It’s a good thing he has a big head. Obviously just thankful there’s no lingering issues or anything like that going on. Thoughts and prayers to make sure he’s doing alright.”

“That's a tremendous relief,” manager Tony La Russa said. “There are some issues there that were taken care of, but take worst case and lesser worst, it could be worse and you're very thankful. We're all surprised it doesn't happen more but when it does happen it's just a reminder [that] it can be very difficult. It can happen to anybody and you feel concerned, but he's a top of the line pitcher, too.”

He said it
“It kind of somewhat mimics a starter’s role. It’s a different point in the game and a different feel around the sixth and seventh then there is around the first and second. Getting to sit down and get up and go back out there and compete again, I like doing that. I’m comfortable in that role.” – Michael Kopech, on pitching multiple relief innings