Notes: Anderson on Clemente Day

Balance seems to be the watchword for White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson.

That’s a balance struck between working hard every day and trying to help his squad go as deep as possible into the 2020 playoffs while also using what he has been given to give back to those in the community. Roberto Clemente, who was honored across baseball Wednesday with Roberto Clemente Day, carved out a similar path.

• List of 2020 Roberto Clemente Award nominees

“Everything he stood for, just happy to put on the uniform, and definitely excited and cherish every moment,” said Anderson, this season's White Sox nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award. “Kind of the way I go about my business every day.

“[I try to] just do everything that makes sense. Continue to grow as a person, player, teammate. Just overall. Just rub people the right way, respecting people no matter what position they have or what kind of job they have. Just being realistic with life and understand everything and cherish every moment.”

Anderson entered Wednesday’s action ranked second in the American League with a .353 average, trailing DJ LeMahieu at .355 and standing a step ahead of Nelson Cruz at .342. Winning a second consecutive batting title would be something Anderson would cherish.

“It definitely would mean a lot,” Anderson said. “I guess it would let people know it wasn’t a fluke. And that I continue to put the work in and continue to learn the type of player I am and continue to learn what I can do at the plate. The biggest part is being consistent and continue to grow and getting good pitches to hit and not missing my pitches.”

Keuchel skipped against Detroit
Lucas Giolito is the lone official starter for the White Sox this weekend against the Tigers, with the staff ace set to take the mound for Friday’s series opener and the team listing “TBA” for the following two days. Dallas Keuchel will not be part of that mix, with the White Sox skipping his Saturday turn to give the southpaw more time to recover from back soreness.

That back malady caused Keuchel to leave after five innings and 49 pitches on Sunday in Kansas City.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we’re going to skip him and get him ready for the Minnesota series,” White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. “He actually came into the office today and said he was feeling better, so he’s going to go out there, and play some catch. We’ll continue to treat him up and get him ready for his next start.”

Reynaldo López, who was sent to the team’s alternate training site in Schaumburg, Ill., after struggling against Minnesota over 1 2/3 innings on Sept. 2, could be in the picture this weekend.

“It’s possible,” Renteria said. “The whole thought when we first sent him out was we wanted him to work on his rhythm and timing. That’s part of the reason we sent him out.

"He’s continuing to improve. The reports have been good. At this point, if everyone feels he’s doing well and improves the things he needs to in order to put himself back, we’ll determine the appropriate action in terms of bringing him back.”

Third to first
• Renteria still could not set a return for Carlos Rodón. The southpaw is on the 10-day injured list with left shoulder soreness but had a 60-pitch session set for Schaumburg scratched on Friday due to back discomfort.

• In celebrating the start of Hispanic Heritage Month, the White Sox will hold Los White Sox Lotería Night, a free, live game of virtual lotería played at home through the White Sox YouTube channel on Thursday night at 7 p.m. CT. This is the first time an MLB team has held a virtual lotería.

They said it
“I spanked his butt first because he knows better. But things like that happen. I told him don't let that take away his aggressiveness, just know your speed. But he's all right, he's going to be just fine.” -- Anderson's words of advice for Nick Madrigal, who was thrown out at home and at third during Tuesday’s loss

“I'm always going to be an aggressive baserunner. But it's just picking and choosing different times in the game when to do it. And especially with this lineup, me hitting at the bottom of the order, knowing that the lineup's going to turn over after I come up, not having to push the envelope all that much. Don't force anything, pretty much, is the bottom line.” -- Madrigal