White Sox notes: Anderson leads off, Danish demoted, OF struggles

With Tigers left-hander Matt Bond pitching Monday night, bumping shortstop Tim Anderson up to leadoff was worth a shot. Left-handed hitting Adam Eaton, moved down to second in the White Sox lineup, was battling through a .153 slump in his previous 19 games, so that hasn’t been working for a team that has been struggling to score runs.

Anderson is used to leading off, and doing so against a lefty made sense but the rookie went 1-for-6 in the Sox’ 10-9 win in 12 innings. Anderson did execute a sacrifice bunt in the 12th, moving J.B. Shuck to third before Adam Eaton singled through a drawn-in infield to win it.

“Put a little energy in there, put a little something new at the top and see what happens,’’ manager Robin Ventura said.

Ventura has tinkered with his lineup, hoping to find something that will spark his lacking offense. Eaton was the ninth different player to bat in the 2-hole and he had a big game, going 4-for-5 with two runs and two RBI and a stolen base.

“You mix it up a little bit and you alleviate the sameness of what the lineup is,’’ Ventura said. “When you shake it up you don’t know what you’re going to get, but having Tim in there is different.’’

Eaton, who has said in the past that he likes batting second but has led off every game he’s played this season, saw his average drop from .304 to .259. He raised it to .270.

“I like the 2-hole to be honest with you,’’ Eaton said. “It’s probably my favorite place to hit. It gives me options and if T.A. gets on base, hitting and running and bunting him over and hitting into that hole as a left-handed hitter. If he steals second base, bunting him over. It allows me to be able to control the bat and putting the ball in play and doing something productive.’’

Anderson, a former No. 1 draft choice and the Sox’ top prospect, batted ninth in his first three games and said he felt more comfortable having those games under his belt. Leading off changes nothing for him, he said.

“I’ll continue to do what I’ve been doing, and hopefully we can get a spark in the game,’’ he said.

That means being an aggressive hitter. With the Sox trailing 3-0 in the first, Anderson swung through a 2-0 fastball — it was a good pitch to hit — before grounding out.

Danish sent down

Tyler Danish was optioned to AAA Charlotte after the game. The Sox will make a corresponding move Tuesday.

Danish pitched for the third consecutive day, relieving James Shields and giving up a run on two hits and a walk plus and intentional walk in the sixth inning. He gave up two runs on six hits over 1 2/3 innings.

After Danish, though five relievers — Dan Jennings, Matt Albers, Nate Jones, David Robertson and Zach Duke (1-0) combined for 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball. Only Jones was charged with a run in two innings.

Outer limits

Don’t underestimate the loss of Austin Jackson, whose presence in center and the subsequent move of Eaton to right gave the Sox a much-improved outfield that played a big role in that 23-10 start. With Avisail Garcia in right for the fourth straight night and Eaton back in center the Sox are back to playing with the same outfield they fielded when they were the worst-ranked defense in baseball in 2015.

Garcia didn’t get to Miguel Cabrera’s deep fly that fell between him and Eaton for a double in the first, then booted it and let the ball drop out of his glove as he tried to pick it up. He was charged with an error.

In the second, Garcia wasn’t quick running to foul territory on Jose Iglesias’ foul ball, which landed in the first row beyond his reach — the type of catch Eaton has made almost routinely all season. Iglesias then singled and eventually scored the Tigers’ fourth run.

Eaton was leading the majors with 16 defensive runs saved in right, but his career Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating marks in center field are below average for his career.

Sale on the side

Chris Sale often skips side sessions between starts but he had one with pitching coach Don Cooper Monday. In his last four starts, Sale (10-2, 2.87) has allowed 17 earned runs on 34 hits over 22 2/3 innings for a 6.75 ERA during that span. Sale pitches the series finale Wednesday, opposed by Mike Pelfrey – who got his first win of the season against the Sox’ ace lefty in Detroit on June 4.