Notes: Bummer to IL; Burdi, Anderson arrive

CHICAGO -- The White Sox placed left-handed reliever Aaron Bummer on the 10-day injured list prior to Saturday afternoon’s contest with Cleveland due to a left biceps strain.

Bummer, 26, departed Friday night’s victory in the seventh inning, his second inning of work, after throwing a 95.2 mph sinker to José Ramírez and then calling for the trainer and Rick Renteria. The White Sox manager said Saturday the severity of the injury was not known but that Bummer was moving around pretty well.

“Hopefully, it’s not anything of significance,” Renteria said.

Bummer's absence takes away arguably the most valuable pitcher on the White Sox staff. He has a 1.23 ERA over seven games this season after posting a 2.13 ERA over 58 games in 2019. He’s one of the best in the game at inducing ground balls, and he holds left-handed hitters to a .200 career average (right-handed hitters hit .225).

And Bummer also can be used in roles from closing to setting up to picking up two innings in the middle of the game to keep the opposition in check. Relievers such as Codi Heuer, Jimmy Cordero, Evan Marshall and Ross Detwiler have excelled in 2020 and could help fill that void.

“We do a lot of combos, possibly,” Renteria said. “We have some power arms in here, and so they are going to have to pick up the slack.”

Burdi, Anderson arrive
The White Sox recalled right-hander Zack Burdi from their Schaumburg alternate training facility and purchased the contract of fellow right-hander Drew Anderson from Schaumburg. Brady Lail was designated for assignment.

Burdi made his Major League debut Saturday during Chicago's 7-1 win over the Indians and struck out two during a scoreless sixth inning.

Burdi, the 26th pick overall in the 2016 MLB Draft, had Tommy John surgery in July '17 and then sustained a right knee injury while doing agility work in the outfield before a game with Double-A Birmingham last season. That June injury led to a full medial patella-femoral ligament reconstruction, but he was able to share the good news of Saturday's promotion with his parents, girlfriend, brother and friends prior to the game.

“All the feelings started rushing in; the excitement,” Burdi said. “Just the overwhelmingness of receiving that news was crazy. To be able to share that moment with them, even over the phone, was super special.”

Anderson was not quite as successful in his season debut, allowing six runs over 1 1/3 innings. The 26-year-old tossed a scoreless third inning before scattering four hits -- including a pair of two-run homers -- two walks and a wild pitch in the fourth.

White Sox make the move to Sunday night
When the White Sox last played a Sunday night game on ESPN, it was May 12, 2013, at Guaranteed Rate Field. Chris Sale one-hit the Angels that night, losing his perfect-game bid with one out in the seventh via a Mike Trout single. Paul Konerko was playing first base, Tyler Greene was at second and Casper Wells started in left field.

Due to the Cubs/Cardinals series being postponed this weekend, the White Sox have returned to ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball by playing host to the Tribe in a 6:08 p.m. CT tilt. It should be a tremendous pitching matchup, with Lucas Giolito for the White Sox and Shane Bieber for Cleveland.

“I’m excited,” White Sox outfielder Adam Engel said. “Night games are always more fun than day games, in my opinion. I think a lot of guys think the same way.

“Everyone kind of knows we’re on TV. It’s talked about a little bit here and there. A little extra energy. We’ll take it, all the energy we can get without having our awesome fans in the stands. We’re on ESPN; that’s fun.”

Third to first
• The White Sox recorded back-to-back shutouts of Cleveland (4-0 on July 29 and 2-0 Friday night) for the first time since July 21-22, 2004, at Progressive Field. It marks the first time since Sept. 5-6, 2011, at Minnesota that Chicago has shut out the same opponent in back-to-back games.

• Eloy Jiménez has been vocal in his dislike of playing the designated hitter’s role. But Renteria used him there Saturday to get Jiménez a break while keeping him in the lineup.

“These guys are a little fatigued, so I wanted to get him off his feet a little bit,” Renteria said. “When we sent out the lineup, we send it out the night before, so they know where they are at. I didn’t get a blow-me-up text saying, ‘What’s going on?’”

He said it
“I don’t remember ever really watching scoreboards so closely as a team through the first couple of weeks in the season. We come in off the field, and we want to see what’s going on around the league, or we’re announcing what scores are postgame for different teams. You control what you can control, and you want to win as many games as you can, but we’re all keeping our eyes on the scoreboard, and I’m sure it’s like that league-wide.” -- Engel, on the instant playoff atmosphere for a 60-game season