Luis Robert homered and doubled off starter Shohei Ohtani Saturday as the Chicago White Sox beat the Los Angeles Angels 6-5 at Camelback Ranch.
Robert’s solo home run was the first of five runs for the Sox in the second inning. Tim Anderson drove in a run with a single, Jose Abreu drew a bases-loaded walk and Yoan Moncada knocked in two with a single.
Anderson went 2-for-3 with the one RBI and one run. Leury Garcia had three hits, including a solo home run in the eighth inning.
Ohtani allowed five runs on six hits with four strikeouts and one walk in 2? innings for the Angels. He exited with two outs and the bases loaded in the second, but re-entered in the third to face the first three batters as the Angels utilized a spring protocol.
Here are three takeaways from Sox camp.
1. Yasmani Grandal feels ’10 times better’ as he recovers from right knee inflammation.
Yasmani Grandal played in his first Cactus League game of the season Saturday, going 0-for-2 with a walk.
Slotted as the designated hitter, Grandal popped out in the first, struck out in the second and walked in the fourth. The catcher is recovering from right knee inflammation.
“Nice to be out there competing,” Grandal said Saturday. “I don’t deal too good with situations, especially when I’m hurt. The fact that I was able to go out and have a regular day and just compete, period, is definitely a good thing for me.”
Grandal twisted his knee while running during a drill in late February.
“I stepped wrong and felt something right away,” Grandal said. “We didn’t know what it was and there was some sort of inflammation in there. Right now it feels 10 times better than it did back then. Strength is coming back. I’m finally able to walk normal. We’ll continue to check out boxes and keep working at it, keep going with it.”
Grandal said he’s been catching “more and more” and the next step is to start blocking and throwing to the bases during workouts.
The plan is to not rush the recovery.
“I’m hoping I get the amount of ABs I need to feel comfortable,” Grandal said. “Right now, repetition behind the plate is probably No. 1. I could care less if I start off the season hitting or not. I know the bat is going to come through at some point and once that happens, then it’s a done deal.
“Being able to hopefully get more repetitions behind the plate, catching-wise where I’m blocking and I’m throwing and I’m moving around and calling the game and seeing how the game is going along, I think that’s No. 1, being able to start slowing down the game more and more and more.”
2. Grandal sees the work on the ‘little things’ paying off for the catchers in camp.
Grandal praised the performances of the rest of the catchers in camp.
Jonathan Lucroy, Yermin Mercedes and Zack Collins have received a majority of the playing time as Grandal works his way back. They are vying for a roster spot and to play behind Grandal.
Mercedes started behind the plate Saturday and went 0-for-2 with a walk and one run. He’s hitting .294 with six RBIs this spring. Lucroy, who went 0-for-1 on Saturday is hitting .333 while Collins is batting .300 with one home run this spring.
“I think those guys have done a great job,” Grandal said. “We keep on working on every little thing that we can, whether it’s receiving or blocking or throwing or game-calling or talking about pitchers here and there. I don’t like to see it as a backup catcher because we are a group. Whoever is up there, I want to be comfortable with.
“I know I’m doing my part helping each individual get better and at the end of the day, whoever it is, we’re going to go to battle and if something happens to one of us, then the next guy up is going to have to come up and take that spot. The cycle kind of goes on and on and on. What I’ve seen so far has been great. They grind it out each and every day. They work at the little things and that’s what you want to see.”
3. Jimmy Lambert executed his game plan.
Starter Jimmy Lambert has had longer live batting practice sessions than the time he spent on the mound Saturday.
That’s an indication of how well his outing went.
Lambert retired the side in order in his one inning, striking out the final two batters.
Lambert, who missed most of 2020 with a right forearm strain, made two relief appearances and pitched two scoreless innings before being placed on the injured list on July 29.
Saturday was his first Cactus League game this spring.
“First game in a while, I really just wanted to go out there and throw strikes,” Lambert said. “The plan was always to go one inning, no matter how many pitches I threw. I didn’t want to focus too much on my results and just wanted to go out there, throw strikes and feel good about it. And I did.”