Yoan Moncada and Eloy Jimenez provided plenty of excitement for White Sox fans today, but poor pitching and shaky defense led to an 8-6 loss in Kansas City. Here are some individual performances that stood out for the Sox:
Yoan Moncada
Moncada followed up a strong season debut with an even better game at the plate, as he went 3-5 with two sharp singles, a home run to right-center field, and zero strikeouts. Moncada’s first single, which came in his first plate appearance, was against a shift in which the shortstop was playing on the right side of the infield. Moncada noticed this and promptly sent a ground ball right to the shortstop’s usual spot. He did not provide any defensive highlights, nor did he really get any opportunities to make any, but his newfound aggressiveness at the plate is already providing early returns.
THIS BALL IS OUTTA HERE!
Yo goes deep on a 3-2 pitch for his first bomb of 2019. pic.twitter.com/j0WJQ59pIU
— Sox On 35th (@SoxOn35th) March 30, 2019
Eloy Jimenez
Eloy Jimenez recorded his first career MLB hit on a single in the 2nd inning, and then hit another sharp single later in the game. He finished 2-4, although his final at-bat saw him take six balls outside of the strike zone with three of them being called strikes. In other words, he got Moncada’d. Defensively, he and Anderson need to iron out some communication issues, as they let a fly ball land in between them which eventually led to more runs for Kansas City.
Eloy Jimenez records his second hit of the day, making this the first multi-hit game of his Major League career. #WhiteSox pic.twitter.com/W2ut5rIH84
— Sox On 35th (@SoxOn35th) March 30, 2019
Kelvin Herrera and Alex Colome
In their White Sox debuts out of the bullpen, both Herrera and Colome pitched clean innings and seemed to have good command. The right handed relievers figure to provide a helpful presence for the young team, and they could act as valuable trade chips down the road if the team decides to sell.
With the team in desperate need of runs, Abreu launched a rocket three-run home run over the left field fence. His constant production from the middle of the order may be taken for granted by many, and in the final year of his contract, he could be in for a third .900+ OPS season.
BOOM! Jose Abreu delivers with a line drive rocket for his first home run of the season. pic.twitter.com/zujSV9Jiw2
— Sox On 35th (@SoxOn35th) March 30, 2019
In his season debut, Lopez struggled to command his fastball and seemed hesitant to rely on his off-speed pitches. His velocity was down around 93 MPH, but it is also important to note that the temperature was generally below 40 degrees with moderate to heavy winds. As the season continues, it will be important for Lopez to trust his off-speed stuff so that he does not need to throw so many fastballs to the point where the opposing batters know what is coming.
The series finale against the Royals is a 1:15 PM CT first pitch tomorrow. Lucas Giolito and his refined mechanics will debut against the Royals’ Jorge Lopez.
Featured Photo: Chicago White Sox (Twitter: @whitesox)
