Eloy Jimenez mashes first homer at Guaranteed Rate Field in White Sox’ victory

Eloy Jimenez’s first Chicago-style home run traveled almost as far as his Kansas City special, a 462-foot blast above the shrubbery in center Tuesday at Guaranteed Rate Field.

The home run, which came in his 42nd game during the fourth inning in a 7-5 win against the Nationals, was well worth the wait. The rookie’s first eight homers came on the road, including a 471-foot blast to center against the Royals two days earlier at Kauffman Stadium, the longest homer there in two seasons.

This home run, which landed on the stairs leading to the fan deck below the scoreboard in center field, was the longest at Guaranteed Rate Field in the Statcast era (since 2015) and the sixth longest by a Sox in the ballpark’s history.

It was just the latest sign the 22-year-old Jimenez, who missed three weeks with a high ankle sprain, is beginning to settle in after a slow start, albeit with plenty of demonstrations of his prodigious power. He entered the game with a .230/.278/.421 hitting line and 48 strikeouts.

But in his last 12 games, Jimenez is hitting .311 after going 2-for-3 including a first-inning walk and an RBI double in the sixth. He also made a sliding catch in left field.

“I know I’m getting better, and that is pretty much one of my best games,” Jimenez said. “But there are more to come.”

Manager Rick Renteria seems to agree.

“Guys that have a lot of talent kind of grow exponentially,” Renteria said. “He’s just scratching it. He put together some pretty good at-bats today. Hopefully it will just continue. He’s adjusting, he’s learning.”

“He’s getting closer,” said general manager Rick Hahn, who signed Jimenez to a $43 million contract before he played his first major-league game. “He’s 22 years old. He’s a rookie. The league is treating him like a five-time All-Star in terms of how they are pitching to him. You are going to see gradual improvement from him over the course of the summer.’’

And then?

“In the next couple of years, you are going to see growth by leaps and bounds from him.”

Jimenez was the third player in Sox history to hit each of his first eight-plus career homers on the road, joining Nellie Fox (nine from 1951-54) and Johnny Mostil (eight from 1921-22).

Jimenez managed to upstage catcher Welington Castillo’s first-inning grand slam that wiped out a 2-0 deficit. Sox left-hander Manny Banuelos allowed a two-run homer to Anthony Rendon in the top of the first.

Jimenez’s homer against Nationals left-hander Patrick Corbin in the fourth made it 5-2. It impressed everyone, including Sox slugger Jose Abreu.

“He said I’m not 22 years old because I hit the ball too far,” Jimenez said.

“The other guys say, ‘Where’s that coming from?’ I say, ‘I don’t know.’ ”

Banuelos allowed two runs in 4⅔ innings and was rescued by Evan Marshall (1-0), who got out of a jam in the fifth and then pitched a scoreless sixth. Marshall has not allowed an earned run over 15⅓ innings.

A rare rough outing for left-hander Aaron Bummer (1.45 ERA), who gave up two runs in the eighth inning, prompted Renteria to use Alex Colome for a five-out save.

The Sox (32-34) needed a win to salvage a victory in their four interleague games with the Nationals (32-35). Jimenez received a game ball — his home run ball.

“I’m going to put it in my room and I’m going to watch it every single day,” he said.