[ad_1]
“I feel good,” said the White Sox outfielder. “Go back to the Eloy style.”
The “Eloy style” is still bad news for the Cubs, the team that initially signed and started developing Jiménez, then traded him to the White Sox as part of a four-man comeback for José Quintana on July 13, 2017. It is now Jiménez. serving as one of the main offensive forces of the Central American League leaders, who hold a 10½ game advantage over the Indians, while the Cubs (52-61) embark on yet another rebuild or reconfiguration.
On Sunday, Jiménez joined Tim Anderson and Andrew Vaughn with home runs in the first set against Cubs starter Zach Davies. Jiménez, who missed the first 99 games this season following surgery to repair a ruptured left pectoral tendon, finished with two homers, a double and five RBIs, all in his first three at-bat . He also has five homers and 10 RBIs in 10 career games against the Cubs, not to mention 11 homers and 28 RBIs in 37 interleague games.
But for Jiménez, being part of a powerful, championship-caliber team largely reverses any memories of beating the team that traded him.
“It’s in the past, but honestly I had it in mind, you know? Jiménez said, displaying the same smile he showed before the match via Zoom. “I feel really good, but I need to move on. It’s from the past. Just keep working hard and succeeding.
“It was exciting, especially because we are winning. This is the most important thing right now. I am happy. I feel excited.
Dylan Cease took the win, the same Cease that was part of the Cubs’ return to Quintana in 2017. The right-hander improved to 9-6, striking out 10 in five innings and allowing three runs on five hits and three goals on. bullets. Cease recorded 13 swings and misses, per Statcast, stoking the last four he faced and five of the last six batters.
Cease called Sunday one of the most exciting games of his career, with the plethora of White Sox fans among the thousands making their presence felt early and often.
“I was pretty inefficient and it wasn’t my sharpest game, but getting the win is really all that matters,” Cease said. “This year, I’m just pitching more consistently.
“Even though I have a stretch where I don’t advance or fill the area as much, I still do some big throws in some places that can help me get through. To me, I feel like a totally different pitcher than last year. “
Anderson’s 11th home run, with an exit speed of 104 mph per Statcast, came on the first pitch of the match. The shortstop was scheduled for the evening, but he returned to the lineup for this nationally televised game on ABC.
On the post-game Zooms, manager Tony La Russa and Anderson spoke about how the shortstop found something in pre-game work with batting coach Frank Menechino and wanted to put it on. the ordeal. His discovery was one of the Cubs’ losses that night.
“I found the gun,” Anderson said with a smile, after completing a short triple of the cycle.
“In fact, when we mentioned it last night to the coaches, we thought it was a game [off]”La Russa said.” But he got there early with Frank and worked, and he found something. So Leury [García] gladly gave up his place, and he’s had a hell of a day. “
With this nationally televised game, the White Sox have made a statement about the power they have.
People got to see Vaughn making two nice catches in right field, while also leading in three. They got to see Jiménez quickly come back to full form, and remember, center fielder Luis Robert returns to Minnesota on Monday night and receiver Yasmani Grandal is not far behind. So what has this weekend proven other than that the White Sox have been far better than the Cubs as expected?
It was succinctly summed up by Anderson.
“We are dangerous,” Anderson said. “Once everything clicks, we’re dangerous. But no matter what TV it’s showing on, we should go out and perform and have fun with it.
[ad_2]
Source link