Struggling Todd Frazier gets the night off

Oh, to have third baseman Todd Frazier and first baseman Jose Abreu going good at the same time. Manager Robin Ventura would love nothing more, but it isn’t happening for the White Sox now, and come to think of it, the Sox power pair hasn’t really clicked together yet all year.

Just when Abreu is hitting like the middle of the order slugger the Sox need him to be, Frazier finds himself in a 8-for-62 slump that dropped his average to .206 and prompted manager Robin Ventura to keep him out of the starting lineup Tuesday.

“I think a break is needed, to sit back a little bit and pick your teammates up and cheer them on,’’ said Frazier, a day after he reacted to one of his strikeouts by throwing his bat on home plate.

The good news for Ventura is that Frazier hasn’t lost his power stroke. His 19 homers were second only to Mark Trumbo’s 20 in the major leagues. But his five doubles and low average are not him. He had 43 doubles for the Cincinnati Reds last season, and he’s a career .252 hitter.

“It’s the weirdest thing I’ve been involved in, hitting-wise,’’ Frazier said Tuesday.

“You’ve got to keep focusing on the positive stuff and eventually it will turn. But it’s taking a little longer, just like winning, it’s taking us a little longer.’’

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It took Abreu a little longer to get going. He homered in back-to-back games for the first time Sunday and Monday and had reached base in his last 11 games, including seven multihit games during that stretch. In his last 18 games, Abreu is batting .333 with three homers and 10 RBI.

Frazier’s 0-for-6 in Monday’s 10-9 win over the Tigers in 12 innings, which included an RBI groundout, made it kind of easy for Ventura to give him a rest. Tyler Saladino started at third.

“Do nothing, do as little as possible,’’ Ventura said. “Really, it’s up to him but I don’t want see him sit there and try to grind it out in the cage because he’s been trying to do that. Just sit and watch, that’s the best thing he can do, at least for his mind. He’s frustrated and you get to a point where sometimes more isn’t really helping. So relax and watch.’’Frazier did take a few swings during batting practice but otherwise just chilled.

“My spirits aren’t down,’’ he said. “I know we’ve got a good team here, we’re still in the race and eventually once it does turn we’re going to put some more numbers up.’’