The White Sox offense has been hit or miss this season. Consider the opening shot of Sunday's doubleheader a resounding "hit."
Tim Anderson sent the first pitch of at least 14 innings of baseball between the White Sox and Boston Red Sox over the fence at Fenway Park, giving the visitors an early lead as soon as humanly possible.
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It was the ninth leadoff homer of Anderson's career, which moved him into a three-way tie, alongside teammate Adam Eaton and Hall of Famer Tim Raines, for the second most leadoff homers in White Sox history. Former second baseman Ray Durham owns the franchise record with a whopping 20 of them.
But Anderson's homer showed what he means to the White Sox just a couple games after returning from an early season injured-list stint. Manager Tony La Russa called Anderson the team's "igniter" at the top of the order, and there's no better way to ignite a lineup in need of a big offensive effort than with a game-opening long ball.
Eloy Jiménez will remain on the shelf for a good while longer. But filling one of those Silver Slugger sized holes in the lineup was a necessity for these White Sox.
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