Randal

Grichuk

Grichuk mashed lefty starter Andrew Abbott as he was expected to do, but was removed for Andrew Benintendi when Abbott left the game. The 34-year-old platoon player is hitting .293/.339/.578 against lefties this year.

The issue is believed to be minor and the White Sox anticipate Meidroth returning to the lineup for Tuesday’s series opener against the Reds. Sam Antonacci will cover second base in his absence on Sunday with Randal Grichuk starting in left field and batting cleanup against Guardians’ southpaw Joey Cantillo.

Randal Grichuk will start in left field and bat fourth, while Everson Pereira will start in center field and bat sixth. Both Antonacci and Tristan Peters will head to the bench, and both players seem to be falling into strong-side platoons. It makes some sense since Antonacci has hit .200/.288/.231 in 74 plate appearances against lefties this season.

It appears to be nothing more than a routine day of rest for the 24-year-old second baseman. Sam Antonacci will cover second base in his absence while Randal Grichuk draws a start in left field and will bat seventh against Blue Jays’ right-hander Trey Yesavage.

Antonacci takes a seat with Athletics rookie lefty Gage Jump toeing the rubber for Saturday’s showdown in Chicago. The 23-year-old went 1-for-5 with an RBI and his 13th stolen base of the season during Friday’s series opener. He’s emerged as the White Sox primary table-setter, slashing .288/.380/.409 with 47 runs scored, five homers and 26 RBI across 299 plate appearances over 74 games. It’ll be veteran lefty-masher Randal Grichuk in the leadoff spot to kick off Saturday’s tilt.

It appears to be nothing more than a routine day of rest for the 24-year-old second baseman. Sam Antonacci will move into the infield and start at second base while Randal Grichuk makes a rare start against a right-hander and will bat fifth for the White Sox against Troy Melton and the Tigers.

Both of Grichuk’s homers came via solo blasts, with the first coming in the third inning off Jesús Luzardo, who he would also get the best of in the fifth inning for his second homer of the day and fifth of the season. Grichuk is heating up a bit as of late, slashing .303/.324/.636 in his last 15 games.

Grichuk is now 12-for-36 with four homers and 13 RBI for the White Sox after going 6-for-31 with no homers and two RBI for the Yankees at the beginning of the season. He’s essentially been filling in for Austin Hays, so it’ll be interesting how the White Sox try to work in both after Hays comes off the injured list. They could have released Grichuk at that point if Grichuk were just putting up average numbers, but that’s probably not on the table now.

Hays has gone 2-for-10 in his first three games at Triple-A, but both hits have been home runs. The 30-year-old has been sidelined since May 4th with a calf strain after also missing significant time with a hamstring strain. With Sam Antonacci playing well in left field, the White Sox will have a tough choice to make when Hays is ready to return. Likely one of Tristan Peters or Jarred Kelenic will head back to the minors, or the White Sox will choose to designate Randal Grichuk for assignment.

Grichuk got the White Sox on the board with a go-ahead, 401-foot (108.5 mph EV) two-run blast in the opening inning, giving the White Sox a lead that they would never relinquish. He then strolled to the dish with the bases loaded in the third inning and added a two-run single that pushed the Sox’ advantage to 4-1. With his two-hit night, the 34-year-old lefty masher is now slashing .234/.260/.511 with three homers and nine RBI on the season.