White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson begins serving suspension

ARLINGTON, Texas — White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson began serving a two-game suspension Sunday for bumping an umpire July 29.

Lenyn Sosa was recalled from Triple-A Charlotte to serve as middle-infield depth behind Josh Harrison and Leury Garcia. Left-handed reliever Tanner Banks was optioned to Charlotte.

Anderson was suspended three games by MLB for making contact with Nick Mahrley in a game against the Athletics. Anderson, who also was fined, appealed, and his penalty was reduced to two games. He also will sit out the first game of the doubleheader Tuesday in Kansas City.

Anderson hasn’t discussed the run-in with Mahrley or the suspension and declined to talk about it with reporters again. It’s the third time in four seasons he has been suspended and the second time in less than a year for making contact with an umpire.

As it turned out, a couple of days off might be good for the two-time All-Star, who has struggled since the All-Star break and went 0-for-13 with six strikeouts in the series against the Rangers.

“He’s a little frustrated,” manager Tony La Russa said. “Swing big, try to punch it. He’s in between. It happens to everybody.”

The Sox have a day off Monday before a four-game series against the Royals.

Anderson was penalized for his actions after he was ejected in a loss to the A’s. He objected to a strike call on the first pitch of an at-bat, and the bill of his helmet struck Mahrley’s cap.

Sosa, 22, was with the Sox from June 23 to June 27, going 1-for-12 with a double and two runs scored in four games. He has combined to hit .316/.367/.512 with 16 home runs over 85 games this season with Double-A Birmingham and Charlotte.

Banks, a 30-year-old rookie, is 1-0 with a 3.16 ERA in 29 appearances. Before the Sox traded for Jake Diekman, he was the only lefty on the staff. Banks pitched two innings of relief in an 8-0 loss to the Rangers on Saturday.

Igniter 2.0

AJ Pollock filled Anderson’s leadoff spot and had an RBI single and two doubles.

“Especially the first three games [of the series], we couldn’t get something going,” La Russa said. “In Tim’s spot, he was the igniter. Clutch.”

Leury has a day

Garcia (.216/.240/.282 hitting line), Anderson’s fill-in at shortstop, is struggling through one of his worst seasons, but he had three hits, reached base his first four times up and scored two runs.

“When you see the team like today, when we put everything together — hitting, pitching, defense — we can do it,” Garcia said. “If we stay healthy, a lot of good things are going down.”

Up next

It’s not official, but Lance Lynn likely will start Game 1 of the straight twin bill in Kansas City, and Davis Martin will be called up from Charlotte for Game 2. Johnny Cueto goes Wednesday and Dylan Cease Thursday.

Reynaldo Lopez comes off the injured list Tuesday.