The White Sox certainly hope that wasn’t Derek Hill’s only five minutes of fame, but they’ll take it for now.
Hill hit a tiebreaking pinch-hit home run in the eighth inning, then robbed Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. with a diving catch in right field for the first out of the ninth to lift the Sox to a 6-5 victory Tuesday at Rate Field.
‘‘A special five minutes,’’ manager Will Venable said. ‘‘Can’t make much more of an impact on the game than that in such a quick span.’’
Hill was the third consecutive pinch hitter Venable sent to the plate in the eighth to face left-handed reliever Matt Strahm. Edgar Quero flied to left, and Randal Grichuk grounded out on a spectacular play by shortstop Witt.
Then came Hill, who entered the game hitting .300 against lefties (.077 against righties). He sent a 1-1 pitch 417 feet to center field and raised his fist on his trot.
‘‘That’s kind of my role over here,’’ said Hill, who hit a tying pinch homer May 3 in San Diego. ‘‘That’s a lot of guys’ roles over here. They’re able to put us in the right spot to succeed, and tonight was one of those nights.’’
‘‘That’s a really tough part of the job,’’ Venable said. ‘‘You don’t know when these opportunities are gonna come, and sometimes there’s a lot of space in between. You just gotta stay ready, and Derek does a great job making sure that he’s prepared.’’
Venable pushed the right buttons with the bullpen, too, using closer Seranthony Dominguez in the eighth and Bryan Hudson in the ninth. He said that was so the right-handed Dominguez would face Maikel Garcia and potentially Witt, both right-handed hitters. Dominguez and Hudson each pitched 1-2-3 innings.
All of Venable’s moves caught Hill’s attention.
‘‘He always plays chess,’’ Hill said. ‘‘I feel like he’s been making incredible moves all year. You see it play out in our favor more often than not. Gotta tip my cap to him, as always.’’
Hill deserves a tip of the cap, too, for his diving catch of Witt’s line drive. What was he thinking on the play?
‘‘Don’t let it get by you, or that’s an inside-the-parker,’’ he said. ‘‘Because he flies.’’
Hill also caught the final out on a fly ball down the right-field line, moving the Sox one game below .500 at 20-21. They didn’t win their 20th game last season until June 5 (20-43).