Eloy Jiménez was in a funk heading into the weekend sequence towards the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Chicago White Sox outfielder/designated hitter was 6-for-33 (.182) in his earlier 9 video games, then struck out in his first two at-bats Friday.
His third journey to the plate, he linked on a Cooper Criswell slider for a solo house run to left. That homer had an exit velocity of 105.6 mph.
Jiménez topped it a day later with an exit velocity of 107.5 on a 434-foot homer throughout the second inning. The ball left the park in such a rush that Rays left fielder Randy Arozarena didn’t transfer.
Those had been the primary two homers of the season for Jiménez. Not that he was involved in regards to the drought.
“I’m not really thinking about power first,” he stated after Sunday’s 4-1 loss to the Rays in St. Petersburg, Fla. “I think about hitting first, good contact, good at-bats, and I know the power is there. I don’t need to worry about that.”
Jiménez drove within the group’s solely run Sunday with a fourth-inning double. He’s exhibiting indicators of getting right into a rhythm after being on the injured record April 4-13 with a strained left hamstring.
“I’m starting to feel better at the plate,” Jiménez stated. “I’m beginning to really feel extra snug. After 10 days (on the IL), it’s arduous to get again and play good. But that’s no excuse. I’m right here to do no matter I wish to assist the group win.
“I just try to do my job and help the team. I try to do my best every night and if it’s good, it’s all I can say.”
A key for Jiménez is he hasn’t been chasing as a lot, Sox supervisor Pedro Grifol stated earlier than Monday’s sport towards the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.
“He’s shrinking the strike zone,” Grifol stated. “He’s getting good pitches to hit. When Eloy is getting good pitches to hit, he’s going to do some harm. That’s simply who he’s. He’s acquired a superb eye, he’s acquired good plate self-discipline. He sport plans rather well and he’s acquired the flexibility to execute a sport plan.
“That’s what he’s been doing the last three or four days. He’s not overly impatient. He’s patient. He’s waiting for his pitch where he can do damage, and he’s done that. He’s not chasing. He’s taking some good pitches. That’s a really good thing too.”
Generally talking, Grifol stated Sox hitters “can’t chase at the rate that we’re chasing.”
“We need to make adjustments on those,” Grifol stated. “We really feel like we’re headed in the fitting path with that. Guys are placing within the work. They’re studying the pitchers, they’re studying their strike zone. They’re studying the place they’ll do harm. It must translate on the market.
“When you chase, you’re not getting pitches that you can do damage with. That’s just a part of the game. You stay in the strike zone, you’re going to get a good pitch to hit, you’re going to do some damage. You come out of the strike zone, you’re not going to put good wood on the baseball. That’s no secret. That’s just the way the game is. The work is being done. You’ve just got to put it in play out there now.”
The Sox know they’ve to chop down their strikeouts after fanning 33 instances within the three-game sweep by the Rays, together with 15 strikeouts Saturday.
“There were some positives that came out of that series, (and) there were some things we have to improve on for sure that came out of that series,” Grifol stated. “We just have to execute those things here against Toronto.”
Joe Kelly returns from IL
Before Monday’s sport, the Sox reinstated reliever Joe Kelly from the 15-day injured record. Kelly, who’s 0-1 with a ten.13 ERA and three strikeouts in three reduction appearances this season, went on the IL retroactive to April 9 with a proper groin pressure.
“He extends the bullpen out significantly to where we feel comfortable in leverage and at the same time resting some of the guys that need it too,” Grifol stated.
Sox starter Lucas Giolito was positioned on the bereavement record, the place he should stay for at least three days and no more than seven. Grifol stated Giolito will return in time for his subsequent begin, which ought to come within the upcoming house sequence towards the Rays.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com