MINNEAPOLIS — The White Sox will play the ‘‘Field of Dreams’’ game Thursday against the Yankees in Dyersville, Iowa, without manager Tony La Russa, who will be attending the funeral of his sister’s husband in Florida.
Bench coach Miguel Cairo will manage the team, surrounded by former manager Jerry Narron and pitching coach Ethan Katz. La Russa said he will watch the game on TV.
Right-hander Lance Lynn hadn’t planned on starting the game but got pushed back a day to replace left-hander Carlos Rodon, who landed on the 10-day injured list with a sore shoulder.
The specially made 8,000-seat stadium, which was built adjacent to the movie site and is surrounded by corn, promises to be quite the spectacle.
‘‘I’m pumped to be there, and I’m glad I’m not pitching so I can be there as a fan,’’ right-hander Lucas Giolito said.
Lynn was on the 2011 Cardinals team that played in the MLB Little League Classic before 2,596 fans in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, so teammates have asked him about that experience.
‘‘I say: ‘It’s pretty simple. It’s like your first game in Triple-A when you get in the day of and play,’ ’’ said Lynn, who will be opposed by Yankees left-hander Andrew Heaney.
The Sox stayed in Minneapolis on Wednesday night and were to fly to Dubuque, Iowa, late Thursday morning. Dyersville is a 40-minute bus ride from Dubuque.
‘‘It’s going to be a little bit of a circus, but we don’t have a choice about it,’’ Lynn said. ‘‘We have to play. They pay us to play, so we’re going to go and do it.’’
The game, which was planned for last season but was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic, has been the talk of Major League Baseball.
‘‘Growing up as a Midwest kid, that was a cool movie,’’ Lynn said. ‘‘But half the team is probably too young to realize what the movie was. So for us older guys, it probably has a little bit more meaning to be a part of something like this.’’
Grandal on rehab assignment
Catcher Yasmani Grandal left for a rehab assignment at Double-A Birmingham. He has been on the 10-day IL since July 6 with a torn tendon in his left knee but is making a fast recovery from surgery.
Grandal has been taking batting practice and catching bullpen sessions with the Sox.
‘‘I think it’s amazing,’’ La Russa said. ‘‘I’m not exaggerating. He’s been dogged, man, every day just grinding, and it’s paying off. Once he starts playing, we’ll get him back sooner rather than later.’’
Grandal is hitting .188/.388/.436 with 14 home runs, 38 RBI, 42 runs scored and 60 walks in 63 games.
This and that
The Sox are 13-13 since the All-Star break, with 10 of the losses coming against teams below .500. They’re 1-7 in one-run games since the break.
• All six of the Sox’ hits Wednesday were singles, including two by Eloy Jimenez, who has four multihit efforts in his last five games. Jose Abreu had a hit to extend his hitting streak to nine games. The Sox’ home-run streak ended at 11 games.
• Left-hander Garrett Crochet struck out a career-high four in two innings. He has had six scoreless outings of two or more innings in his career.
• The Sox’ Amateur City Elite (ACE) 14-and-under team played in ‘‘A Dream Fulfilled’’ exhibition game against New York’s DREAM program Wednesday night at the ‘‘Field of Dreams’’ site.
