Korey Lee broke out of a slide in a memorable method.
The Chicago White Sox catcher was hitless in his final 23 at-bats when he stepped to the plate within the second inning towards the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday at Kauffman Stadium.
Facing Brady Singer, Lee launched a 1-1 slider to left area that cleared the wall for a three-run residence run. It was the primary homer of Lee’s big-league profession.
“It’s a great feeling,” Lee informed the Tribune earlier than Wednesday’s sequence finale towards the Royals. “It’s one thing that as a child you see it on TV and also you dream about it. I acquired to get pleasure from it.
“It was good to have all the teammates in the dugout excited with me and excited for the moment. I’m happy to get it out of the way.”
As a bonus, his faculty teammate Andrew Vaughn homered within the subsequent inning.
“Brought back memories,” Lee mentioned. “I got a lot of texts from old Cal guys, and I’m sure he did too. It’s a good feeling to bring that back, and hopefully we can get more of those.”
The Sox misplaced 7-6, a recreation that ended on a balk with the bases loaded within the ninth. But Lee had two hits, the homer within the second and a single within the fourth. He was out at second attempting to stretch it right into a double.
Lee mentioned the homer got here from sticking to his plan.
“Sticking to the execution, what the coaches and I talked about,” Lee mentioned. “We talked about it final night time, and once you belief your plan, good issues occur, particularly on this sport. You’ve acquired to be ready for each state of affairs and simply carry on trusting my plan.
“Being on time for the fastball sets you up for a lot of success. Especially in this league, they know what you hit well, they know what you don’t hit well and are going to keep on attacking that. It’s knowing what you can get better at and continue to hammer that out and good things happen when you practice hard.”
Lee has obtained a bulk of the enjoying time at catcher since being referred to as up Aug. 24, showing in 11 of the crew’s final 13 video games.
Manager Pedro Grifol famous Tuesday’s defensive effort.
“He blocked the ball well, he controls our running game,” Grifol mentioned. “We didn’t have much action in that department (Tuesday), part of it is because of him. He can really throw. And he did a good job calling the game. A few mistakes here and there, but we talked about it and he’s a quick learner.”
Acquired in a July 28 commerce from the Houston Astros in trade for reliever Kendall Graveman, Lee has dived proper in working with the workers.
“It’s a lot of communication in the locker room, outside the locker room,” Lee mentioned. “Knowing how they impart nicely and speaking a few plan and what they’re engaged on.
“There’s a lot of stuff that goes on behind the scenes and in meetings and practice and bullpens and early work. Just continuing the process of learning.”
Lee additionally has held himself accountable, talking up after being pulled from Saturday’s recreation towards the Detroit Tigers when he remained within the field on a popup to first. He informed reporters afterward: “I’m a die-hard baseball guy. This is what I love to do. You’ll never see that again.”
Lee entered Wednesday 3-for-29 (.103) with the house run and three RBIs. Grifol is concentrating extra on what occurs behind the plate.
“On the offensive side, you want him to continue to improve and have success, but my focus with him is defense and controlling the pitching staff,” Grifol mentioned.
Lee has been vocal in conferences with the workers, one thing Grifol preferred to see from the 25-year-old.
“I want to grow the relationships with everyone,” Lee mentioned. “That’s something I value as a person, treating others exactly how I want to be treated.”
Injury updates
Shortstop Tim Anderson was scratched from Wednesday’s lineup with neck stiffness. But middle fielder Luis Robert Jr. returned to the beginning lineup for the primary time since Friday after being sidelined with proper quad tightness. Robert pinch hit within the seventh inning Tuesday and remained within the recreation.
The Sox despatched reliever Garrett Crochet to Double-A Birmingham on a rehab task. He has been on the injured listing since June 17 with left shoulder irritation.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com