TA7 stays hot with another leadoff HR, 4 hits
Anticipation? Not so much for the White Sox these days.
Shortstop Tim Anderson led off a second straight game against the Tigers with a home run. Only that was just the beginning of his fun.
Anderson homered, doubled and singled twice, scored three runs and drove in three as the White Sox got 6 1/3 solid innings from right-hander Dylan Cease and defeated the Tigers, 10-4, on Tuesday night at Guaranteed Rate Field.
For those wondering how Anderson would follow up a 2019 season in which he led the American League with a .325 batting average, here’s the latest: He raised his average 39 points to .379 on Tuesday.
“Continue to pick up where I left off last year,” he said, “and continue to grow and continue to mature each and every day. My work is definitely showing, and I’m excited to get to the ballpark and work every day.”
The home run off Tigers starter Tarik Skubal, who was making his Major League debut, was Anderson’s third in two games and his fifth of the season, this one a towering 106 mph shot that landed 422 feet from home plate.
It was the White Sox' 11th homer in three games after they hit six in a 7-2 win on Monday night and four in a row against the Cardinals on Sunday.
This is what they do. This is what he does.
Anderson homered, doubled and singled in his first three at-bats, then had two chances to triple and complete a cycle. He grounded back to the pitcher in the sixth and lined a run-scoring single up the middle in the eighth.
Afterwards, he wasn’t shy about saying how much he wanted the cycle.
“I was just trying to put together some good ABs,” he said. “You know, I definitely would love to get the triple, but I’ll try again tomorrow. I'll be ready to compete again.”
Anderson and Yoán Moncada led off Monday’s game with back-to-back home runs. Per STATS, the last player to hit three leadoff homers in a span of six team games was Ronald Acuña Jr., who actually did so four times in a five-game span from Aug. 11-14, 2018. No White Sox player had ever done that.
The White Sox got eight of their 12 hits from the top three spots in the batting order -- four by Anderson, three by José Abreu and a single by Moncada.
As for Cease, he continued his dominance of the Tigers as he won for the fifth time in as many career starts against them, allowing five hits and two earned runs. He’d gone six innings in his previous start to beat them as well.
“I think he's actually getting better,” Renteria said. “I think that the command is starting to come. He’s starting to start to scratch the surface a little bit. He's far from being a finished product, and I still believe that he’s going to be a fantastic Major League pitcher.”
Cease is 4-0 in four starts this month and has not allowed more than two earned runs in any of them. At 24, this was only his 19th career start. He flashed both a 98 mph fastball and a wicked slider as he continues to establish himself in the Major Leagues. In doing so, he reminds the White Sox of why they’re so optimistic about this season and the future.
“I feel like every start I'm learning something,” Cease said. “Just the fact that we're winning, I’m happy where I’m at.”
The White Sox got a scare in the top of the eighth inning when center fielder Luis Robert appeared to injure his right hand while diving for a ball. He left the game, but X-rays were negative.
“All indications are it’s nothing of real concern,” White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. “He may wake up tomorrow feeling fantastic.”