White Sox second baseman Chase Meidroth wasn’t in the lineup for the second consecutive game Tuesday because of a sore left wrist. He said he hurt it on a swing in the game Friday and the pain got progressively worse, but the soreness had been lingering for weeks.
“It’s something to nip in the bud,” Meidroth said before the opener of a three-game series against the Reds. “Off day yesterday, get another one today and see how it feels tomorrow. We’ve got a long stretch coming up, so we felt it was good to get ahead of it right now.”
The game was the first in a stretch of 16 games in 16 days, thanks to a makeup game Aug. 20 against the Braves removing a day off.
Meidroth took infield before the game, wearing a brace that he said holds the tendon on the back of his wrist in place and takes pressure off of it. He said an MRI exam came back clean and he took a cortisone shot the other day.
“There was no fracture and no hamate [issue],” manager Will Venable said. “It’s going to be a pain-tolerance thing, and he’s not going to put himself in more danger. But we’ve got to be mindful of where he’s at and give him another day.”
Whenever the lingering soreness began, Meidroth hasn’t let it affect his hitting. In 20 games since the All-Star break, Meidroth is slugging .529. In 93 games before the break, he slugged .379. Of his 11 home runs this season, four have come since the break, including two blasts Thursday.
“Just continuing to work,” Meidroth said of his increased slug, which has been on a roller coaster and is up to .404 for the season. “Again, I can’t say enough good things about our hitting staff in helping me all year and getting me to this point. The ups and downs are part of every season. Obviously, it was good last week.”
“Chase is such a tough guy, and he wants to be out there,” Venable said. “This isn’t the first ailment that he’s had that he’s played well through. It’s impressive that he’s gotten off some really good swings with a hand that’s bothering him.”
Giving Colson a break
Sometimes the reason behind a baseball decision isn’t analytical at all.
Venable has said he will use Randal Grichuk, Munetaka Murakami, Miguel Vargas and Colson Montgomery as the DH against left-handers. On Tuesday, he chose Montgomery against Reds lefty Nick Lodolo. Why?
“Colson hit a homer the other day when he DH’d, so why not?” Venable said.
“But also with him physically, especially starting this 16-game stretch, with the foul balls off his legs, I think there’s still some soreness in there. So just want to be mindful of that, make sure that we’re protecting him.”
Burke bounces back
Right-hander Sean Burke recovered from a subpar outing last week in Boston, allowing the Reds one run and three hits in seven innings, one out shy of his season high. He struck out eight and didn’t walk anyone.
Burke’s ERA had dropped in eight consecutive outings until last Wednesday, when he allowed two runs in 4 ⅓ innings against the Red Sox. He found his form Tuesday, holding the Reds hitless until Eugenio Suarez’s leadoff homer in the fifth.
Notes
Right-hander Davis Martin will start the series finale against the Reds on Thursday. He’ll pitch on three days of rest because he threw just one inning Sunday against the Guardians before a rain delay ended his day.
• Catcher Kyle Teel, who’s recovering from a sprained left ankle, looked good running in the outfield before the game and said he’s feeling much better. He’s still likely weeks from returning.