Chicago White Sox outfielder Luis Robert Jr. is not starting for the team on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Rays, just one day after he was benched for not running out a ground ball.
During Saturday’s loss to Tampa Bay, Robert was benched in the second inning after he was thrown out at first base on a ground ball that appeared to be good enough to earn an infield single.
White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said that it was a “mental lapse,” and that it was a managerial decision to sit Robert.
“I just spoke to him and said we’ve got to run hard down the line,” he said. “Luis is a really hard worker, plays hard. He might have had a mental lapse. And our expectations are we got to run hard down the line.”
Robert’s explanation after the game was that he had “hustled a lot” in the team’s previous game against the Rays, and that he was trying to play more conservative.
“Today my legs were a little tired,” he told reporters, including The Athletic's James Fegan, through an interpreter. “My right hamstring was a little tight. Then I decide just to play conservative today.”
Robert said he understood Grifol’s decision to bench him, but insisted the groundout wasn’t the result of a lack of effort.
MLB
Adam Haseley will bat leadoff and play center field for the White Sox in the series finale against Tampa.
The White Sox have now lost 10 games in a row and are tied for last place in the American League Central at 7-21. They have the second-worst run differential in the American League, and they are a paltry 3-9 at Guaranteed Rate Field this season.
The team may have hit a new low on Saturday, as they carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning of the contest. The Rays responded by scoring 10 runs in that inning, cruising to a 12-3 victory.
Here is the team’s full lineup as they look to end their lengthy losing streak:
1 Adam Haseley CF
2 Andrew Vaughn 1B
3 Gavin Sheets LF
4 Eloy Jiménez DH
5 Yasmani Grandal C
6 Jake Burger 3B
7 Oscar Colás RF
8 Elvis Andrus SS
9 Lenyn Sosa 2B