Oakland @ Chicago preview
Guaranteed Rate Field
Last Meeting ( Aug 17, 2021 ) Oakland 0, Chi. White Sox 9
Chicago White Sox center fielder Luis Robert was held out of the lineup to rest Tuesday night despite collecting three multi-hit games in his past six contests.
The decision to sit Robert stemmed from the 24-year-old spending the 85 games before that run on the injured list with a torn hip flexor.
A revived Robert and the White Sox will aim to keep rolling on Wednesday night as Chicago looks for its third straight win against the visiting Oakland Athletics.
Although the White Sox routed Oakland 9-0 on Tuesday behind three-run homers from Jake Lamb and Jose Abreu, the team feels more complete with the charismatic, speedy and powerful Robert in the lineup.
Robert had three hits, including a solo home run, to fuel Chicago to a 5-2 victory over Oakland in Monday's series opener.
"It's just him doing his thing," White Sox reliever Michael Kopech said. "You hate to expect that out of a player every time, because when they don't do it, you can be a little disappointed. But he shows up more than he doesn't. So it's a lot of fun to just watch a guy like that be himself out there."
Oakland has lost three straight games. The latest defeat included a scary moment, as A's starter Chris Bassitt was carted off the field after being hit on the side of the head by a line drive off the bat of Brian Goodwin in the second inning Tuesday night.
Bassitt immediately went to the ground, and his face was bloodied, but the A's got relatively good news about his condition.
Doctors at Rush University Hospital in Chicago diagnosed him with a broken bone in his right cheek, which will require surgery. The team said an "exam of his right eye was normal for vision, and no other damage is currently noted in the eye or the orbital bone. In addition, a head CT scan revealed no further injury."
That will be a relief to players from both teams, who were visibly shaken as the situation unfolded.
"Bassitt's an awesome dude. ... I hope nothing but the best," said Lamb, who played with the A's in 2020. "I hope he's healthy. That was a very scary situation that happened in that inning."
Lance Lynn, who was teammates with Bassitt on the American League All-Star team last month, is set to get the start for the White Sox on Wednesday.
Lynn (10-3, 2.26 ERA) is 4-1 with a 3.83 ERA and 56 strikeouts in seven career starts (40 innings) against Oakland. He is seeking his first victory since July 25 at Milwaukee after three consecutive no-decisions.
Oakland lefty Cole Irvin (8-11, 3.52) is slated to make his first career appearance against the White Sox.
Irvin is 2-4 with a 3.27 ERA in his past seven starts. He is coming off a road loss to Texas on Friday, when he allowed five runs (three earned) and eight hits in five innings with one walk and two strikeouts.
Shortstop Elvis Andrus was reinstated from the paternity list Tuesday and went 0-for-3 later that night.
--Field Level Media