A large tray of cookies awaited Sox players as they entered the clubhouse Friday.
An envelope next to the cookies was addressed to “Our White Sox family” and was punctuated with a drawing of a heart. The letter inside was from the family of Danny Farquhar, who thanked players and coaches for their support.
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Farquhar went one step further, thanking his teammates in person during a pregame visit. It marked his second trip to Guaranteed Rate Field since he suffered a brain hemorrhage from a ruptured aneurysm April 20.
“Very, very encouraging,” Rick Renteria said with a smile. “He looks really, really good. He brought his kids with him, his wife and his sister-in-law. It was nice to see him. He looks very upbeat.”
Nearly two weeks have passed since Farquhar was released from Rush University Medical Center. His doctors have ruled out any chance of him returning to the mound this season, although they say he has a chance to pitch again.
Farquhar’s locker and nameplate remain in the clubhouse. Teammates have sent meals to his family and organized outings with his three children.
“I can relate to that because I have three kids,” fellow reliever Nate Jones said. “I know just taking care of them and making sure that they’re all right is a job in itself. His family came through, and her family came through. Obviously, they’re coming from out of town to Chicago to help out. We tried to make it as smooth as possible for them to get what they needed to get done, whether it was with his kids or food, so that he could just focus on healing and the rehab.”
Renteria joked that he would grab “one or three” cookies off the tray.
“I’m sure he’ll be continuing to make his visits, just to check on the guys,” Renteria said. “I know the guys will check in on him. It’s good to see him.”
Need for speed
Leury Garcia is a perfect 7-for-7 on stolen base attempts this season.
He credits third base coach Nick Capra for his success. Garcia stole eight bases in 2017.
“He has helped me a lot, watching video and seeing what the pitcher does when I’m on first base [and] second base,” Garcia said. “I try to get a good jump, and when I get a good jump, I know that I’ll be close.”
The Sox entered the game with 34 stolen bases, which ranked first in the American League.
“We’ve got a lot of speed,” Garcia said. “That’s a great key. We try to take advantage.”
Looking to improve
Lucas Giolito will try to bounce back from three ugly starts at home when he takes the mound Saturday.
The 23-year-old is 0-2 with a 13.89 ERA at Guaranteed Rate Field. He has surrendered 18 earned runs in 11⅔ innings. On the road, he has posted a 2-2 record with a 4.20 ERA.
The home struggles are perplexing for Giolito, who went 3-2 with a 2.51 ERA in five starts last season.
