Aug. 03--Avisail Garcia has played some of his best defense against the fence this season.
And there has been no need to exaggerate his catches of the day in right field, the most recent of which occurred Saturday. Back to the wall, Garcia cradled in his glove what would have been a go-ahead three-run home run by the Yankees' Didi Gregorius in the third inning. Instead, Gregorius was credited with a sacrifice fly.
"He's a big kid that's athletic," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said of Garcia. "So he's able to get back far enough to be able to take those away. And they've been big ones.
"It changes the complexity of the game if that goes over the fence."
"If I would have hit a home run, yeah, we probably would have taken the lead and go from there," Gregorius told MLB.com.
The Orioles' Chris Davis was victim No. 1, on July 4, when Garcia made a leap of fate against the right-field fence to rob fans of potential extra innings and Davis of a home run in the ninth inning. Garcia enthusiastically celebrated after sticking that landing and preserving a 3-2 victory.
Old home weekend: Yankees manager Joe Girardi hasn't forgotten his way around these parts. The former Cubs catcher was raised in East Peoria, Ill., and attended Northwestern.
These days, though, trips to Chicago aren't what they used to be.
"Mom and dad are gone," Girardi said, adding that two of his brothers attended Saturday's game. "I used to, when my father was still here. But now that he's gone, there's not really much there for us."
Girardi's father, Jerry, died in October 2012. He was 81. His mother, Angela, died of cancer in 1984.
Girardi said most of the family time isn't of the social variety, save for maybe a breakfast here and there.
"Most of that happens at the ballpark. We really don't have a ton of time," he said. "For me to try to go out to Evanston, it's just really hard."
Girardi isn't the only Yankee with Chicago ties. Pitching coach Larry Rothschild, who held the same job with the Cubs for nine seasons, is a Homewood-Flossmoor graduate.
pskrbina@tribpub.com
