As explosive as the White Sox lineup is, it hasn’t been without its stragglers. On Tuesday, right fielder Nomar Mazara and designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion were left behind, for one night’s starting nine, anyway.
The left-handed hitting Mazara has been given every opportunity to contribute with 28 starts in right field but is hitting a soft .223/.298/.272 with no homers. Adam Engel, who bats right, started against right-hander Randy Dobnak.
Manager Rick Renteria said he “wanted to give Maz a chance to just take a step back and give Engy the opportunity to get a few at-bats.”
“We still hope Mazara is able to kind of settle in,” Renteria said.
Engel, batting .294/.333/.441, had the game-winning hit in the eighth inning of the Sox’ 3-1 win in the series opener against the Twins Monday and is the superior option defensively.
Mazara is 2-for-19 in his last six games.
“I haven’t figured that out,” hitting coach Frank Menechino said Sunday of Mazara’s hitting struggle. “He’s in between mechanics sometimes. He’s in between approach sometimes. There’s gotta be some kind of pressing going on in there. So, you know, to really pinpoint it, I can’t.”
Belief in Encarnacion
With James McCann, who was batting .316/.372/.539, catching Dane Dunning, catcher Yasmani Grandal was at DH. Renteria has rotated Grandal into the lineup at first and DH.
Encarnacion, signed to a one-year, $12 million deal in the offseason has eight eight home runs but is batting .168/.265/.403. The 37-year-old needs four homers to tie Billy Williams (426) for 51st all-time and is third behind Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera among active home run leaders but isn’t making a strong case to have his club option picked up next season.
Renteria voiced confidence in the veteran, though.
“I just want him to take a seat right now, let Yaz get into that one and see how it plays out today,” Renteria said. “As we move forward we’ll continue to be flexible. Eddie’s a big part of us. He’s a big part in that clubhouse, he’s a big part in the lineup. I think anytime you see a veteran like him standing in the box, anything can happen in a given moment. He’s someone to be feared.”
Encarnacion has six home runs in his last 18 games but is 13-for-85 (.153) in his last 24 games.
Fry returns from injured list; Flores optioned
The Sox got some experience back in their bullpen when they reinstated left-hander Jace Fry from the 10-day injured list and optioned lefty Bernardo Flores Jr. to the Schaumburg training facility. Fry, 27, who has been on the IL since Sept. 5 (retroactive to Sept. 3) with back spasms. He has allowed five runs over 12 1⁄3 innings for a 3.65 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 13 appearances and was riding a scoreless streak of 8 1⁄3 innings with 11 strikeouts over his last nine games before he went on the IL.
Flores, 24, made his major league debut at Kansas City on Sept. 3 and appeared in one additional game, allowing two earned runs in two innings. Flores has been used almost exclusively as a starter in the minor leagues.
Fry, who owns a 4.81 career ERA, has been used primarily as a middle reliever in 151 appearances for the Sox since 2017.
