Grandal, not fully back, still comes up clutch

CHICAGO -- Here’s what we know about the 8-3 White Sox victory over the Rangers Friday night to open a three-game series at Guaranteed Rate Field.

The White Sox scored five runs in the eighth inning, all with two outs, beginning with Jake Burger hustling to reach on an infield single off a play mishandled by first baseman Nathaniel Lowe and pitcher John King. But it was Yasmani Grandal who delivered what became the game-winning hit, lining a double down the right-field line to score Burger and Yoán Moncada, who had singled to extend the frame.

Grandal raised his hitting streak to four games, and has six RBIs in that span after recording three Friday. It seems to be a step in the right direction for Grandal, who in recent years has been one of the top catchers in the game with the bat, but who entered the game against Texas with an OPS below .500.

But does Grandal agree that his clutch two-hit performance represents an important step back towards his usual self?

“No. Not really,” Grandal said. “I still have the ability to be able to do something up here, even when I'm not fully there.

“I know when the situation comes that I like having two out, late in the game situations. I think I've proven that in the past few years. But I guess to answer your question: no."

That go-ahead double produced Grandal’s 12th career go-ahead hit in the eighth inning or later and second this season, raising his average to .273 against southpaws vs. .152 when facing right-handers in ‘22. So, why doesn’t Grandal feel as if this was a step toward returning to form?

Why? Because the solution is more complicated than making good contact. It’s about regaining the needed strength after undergoing surgery on his right knee at the end of October. When that strength is fully regained, a smiling Grandal explained postgame, it will be pretty obvious that he’s back where he once was.

“[I’m still working towards] getting my feet underneath me, and as soon as that happens, it’s going to be full go,” Grandal said. “It’s going to happen within like, I can’t pinpoint, but as soon as it happens, you’ll be able to see it.”

Friday’s victory left the White Sox (27-29) five games behind the Twins and two behind the Guardians in the American League Central. They received stellar pitching from Reynaldo López in two scoreless innings as the opener, followed by rookie Davis Martin yielding two solo home runs over five innings while striking out six.

Martin was scheduled to start, but found out about the switch early in the day, an idea manager Tony La Russa credited the front office’s analytics for first suggesting. He didn’t get the win, but Martin enjoyed seeing the eighth-inning offensive outburst.

“It was a blast, so much fun.” Martin said. “It’s baseball at its best, at the highest level, and to see guys celebrate and see guys like Yas hit that go-ahead run, everybody is going nuts. Baseball is fun like that.”

“We're starting to take better and better at-bats as the game goes on, especially when we get men on,” Grandal said. “Guys understand that as part of the process, and it's much better for it to happen early in the year than happen later in the year to reveal the switch. I'm glad that it happened and we've learned from it.”

In the last two games the White Sox have played, they have scored 17 runs. Their five runs on six hits in the eighth tied season highs in each category.

At the center of this rally was Grandal, capitalizing on a mistake made by King, a pitcher he had seen only once before, when he laid down a ninth-inning sacrifice bunt on April 24, 2021. No, Grandal is not quite back to where he needs to be. But it was a process he understood would take time, especially with the abbreviated Spring Training due to the lockout.

“We knew that Spring Training for me was going to be a very important time, especially getting back on the field and getting as much catching in as I could,” Grandal said. “Then all of a sudden, as soon as we ramped up, the knee started kind of acting up and now we had to take it slow.

“Once that happened, now all of a sudden you start making little adjustments to still play and still get that playing time, but not the adjustments you are trying to truly take. It’s almost a fake feel. It happened last year so I know exactly what it is, and like I said, it’s just a matter of getting stronger.”