CLEVELAND — Pedro Grifol instantly knew Yoán Moncada was in ache.
With one out within the second inning of Tuesday’s sport between the White Sox and Guardians, Moncada crumbled whereas working down the first-base line, the place he ended up touchdown in entrance of the bottom. By the point Grifol reached the sector, Moncada was writhing on the bottom, and Grifol knew that his third baseman’s season had modified.
“He was in some ache on the market, I really feel for him,” Grifol stated. “He was in extreme ache.”
Whereas the White Sox rallied to beat the Guardians 7-5 after Moncada left, Grifol and his employees now need to plan out what the longer term appears like with out Moncada. On Thursday, he was positioned on the 10-day injured record with a left adductor pressure, and the workforce introduced that his estimated restoration time is three to 6 months. The White Sox recalled outfielder Oscar Colás from Triple-A Charlotte in a corresponding transfer.
Moncada declined to talk to the media postgame, citing a need to attend to talk till his check outcomes got here again. He was limping by the White Sox clubhouse postgame in clear ache.
Previous to the sport, Grifol stated that Moncada was nursing a hip/adductor harm, however he stated postgame that he wasn’t certain that Moncada’s in-game harm was associated.
“I do not know if it is the identical factor,” Grifol stated. “I’ve acquired to speak to [head athletic trainer] James [Kruk] about that. I do not suppose it’s; I am probably not certain. I do know once I acquired on the market he was in some ache.”
Moncada’s harm is one other setback for the snake-bitten White Sox, who’ve now misplaced three cornerstone gamers (Moncada, Luis Robert Jr. and Eloy Jimenez) to harm within the first two weeks of the season. Jimenez may return from his left adductor pressure someday within the subsequent week, however Robert appears destined for a protracted IL stint with a proper hip flexor pressure. And now Moncada joins him after lacking 92 video games in 2023 with a again harm.
“It sucks,” outfielder Dominic Fletcher stated of Moncada’s harm. “You hate to see guys go down, with Eloy and Robert as properly, that’s lots of good hitters who’re lacking. Guys need to step up and play laborious.”
Fletcher stepped up Tuesday evening by recording the go-ahead hit within the eighth inning to place the White Sox forward to remain.
After Korey Lee and Andrew Benintendi opened the inning by getting on base, Fletcher put collectively a powerful at-bat in opposition to Guardians reliever Scott Barlow that ended with him plugging the right-field hole with a line drive.
“It’s been a tricky stretch,” Fletcher stated. “We’ve been shut; It felt [good] to get one and attempt to get one thing going right here. I used to be searching for one thing over the center and making an attempt to hit one thing laborious on a line.”
The Sox recorded 5 runs within the first inning off Guardians starter Logan Allen, however allow them to again within the sport after solely recording three hits from the second to the eighth inning. The Guardians chipped away in opposition to starter Michael Soroka earlier than recording the tying run off reliever Tim Hill.
The victory was secured by Michael Kopech, who continued his sturdy begin to the season by nailing down a two-inning save that eliminated any doubt about who the Sox nearer is.
Twenty-three of the 24 pitches Kopech threw had been fastballs, and he topped out at 102 mph. He grew to become the third pitcher this 12 months to throw 102+ mph in a sport, and his seven pitches of 101+ mph is tied with Mason Miller for essentially the most in a single outing this 12 months.
“It was enjoyable,” Kopech stated. “My velo is again to the place I needed it to be for a very long time. Hanging guys out is all the time enjoyable. I like beginning, however to be sincere with you I like aggressive baseball and being in a very aggressive place and to shut the door, there’s not an even bigger second in a sport for a pitcher.”
“He was 100 mph pounding the strike zone,” he stated. “Electrical. I like that kind and elegance of baseball. Extremely aggressive state of affairs. … He wasn’t making an attempt to trick anyone. It was simply, ‘This is what I’ve acquired.’”
