The White Sox didn’t think Andrew Vaughn would be gone long.
He wasn’t.
Vaughn (MLB COVID protocol) was activated from the injured list and started Saturday’s game against Detroit in left field, going 1 for 4. Vaughn, who had COVID-19 in December and has been vaccinated, said he took five tests that all came back negative
“It’s definitely hectic. I would say that,” Vaughn said. “Better to be safe than sorry. That’s the biggest thing. We’re in 2021. It’s different times.”
Vaughn missed Monday’s doubleheader in Cleveland due to allergies, returned to the lineup Tuesday and was placed on the IL on Thursday.
“That was a pain in the butt,” Vaughn said of the allergies. “I never really had allergies and coming off the flight, it hit me. Hit me like a truck. And then the training staff had me take some good medicine, it cleared me up and I was good to go.”
After not appearing in two games, infielder/outfielder Gavin Sheets was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte.
Uh oh…
Billy Hamilton was replaced to begin the fifth inning. During his fourth-inning at-bat, Hamilton grabbed at his right side multiple times after swinging.
Sox manager Tony La Russa said it looked like an oblique issue and that he wasn’t optimistic Hamilton will be available Sunday.
If Hamilton is out, it would deprive the Sox one of their sparkplugs who brings speed and a valuable glove. But the Sox responded without Hamilton, as replacement Jake Lamb had a two-run double in the sixth.
“He’s a huge presence to our team but once that happened,” second baseman Nick Madrigal said, “the very next inning we were locked in right on the game hoping to pull that one out.”
DH Grandal
As the Sox had sketched out earlier in the week, Yasmani Grandal served as the designated hitter, meaning Friday hero Yermin Mercedes was out of the lineup.
Before facing Detroit starter Tarik Skubal, Grandal had only 35 plate appearances against left-handed pitchers. But coming off a night game, Saturday’s 1:10 p.m. start was a good time to get Grandal off his feet. And with the Sox possibly seeing lefties against the Blue Jays, La Russa wanted Grandal to get more right-handed swings.
La Russa said he talked to Mercedes about the decision Saturday, and told him he’d be back in the lineup Sunday.
Mercedes pinch-hit for Zack Collins to end the eighth and stayed in the game to catch the ninth. Though it was Mercedes’ first time catching a big-league game, he started 305 minor-league games behind the plate.
Pitching moves
The Sox flipped Carlos Rodon and Dylan Cease in the rotation, moving Cease to Sunday and Rodon to Tuesday against Toronto. The swap keeps Cease on regular rest and allows him to see a Tigers team he’s dominated, going 6-0 with a 2.29 ERA in six career starts facing Detroit.
As for Rodon, it means he’ll be making his first start since throwing last Monday against Cleveland. Rodon has started only twice this year on a regular four days’ rest, while five of his appearances have come with six or more days rest as the Sox try to build him back up.
