After being called up from Schaumburg a week into the season, Nick Madrigal went 0-for-8 in his first two big-league games before getting into a groove. But when he returned from a shoulder injury last week, no warmup or acclimation was needed. He just started hitting. And he hasn’t stopped.
After missing 24 days because of the separated shoulder, Madrigal entered Saturday 11-for-23 (.478) with at least one hit in all six games after going 2-for-3 against the Royals on Friday. He’s hitting .400 for the season (16-for-40) with a 1.07 average leverage index and is hitting .500 (16-for-32) since that 0-for-8 start.
“When I was coming back, spending a few days in Schaumburg, my swing felt fine,” the 23-year-old Madrigal said. “At first, I was a little hesitant to -really full-out swing with my shoulder. And each day it felt much, much better. My swing feels great, and I’m pretty satisfied with everything.”
All 16 of Madrigal’s hits have been singles. The 5-8, 165-pounder expects to develop extra-base power eventually.
“I know it’s going to come,” he said. “I know it’s something that’s been on a lot of topics from people — extra-base hits. Right now, my role is to get on base for this lineup. I don’t need to try to hit home runs. So I’ve really tried to embrace that.
“I know [power] is going to be a part of my future game. It’s something I’m not going to [force]. It’s just going to come naturally. People are always going to say something about my swing — that’s been my whole life. But I’m going to stick to my approach and the way I’m swinging.”
With plenty of power in the lineup, manager Rick Renteria is comfortable with that approach.
“He makes contact. He has an ability to find holes,” Renteria said. “As he continues to develop as a hitter and grow stronger, hopefully we’ll see a little more out of him. Right now, we’ll take advantage of what he’s capable of doing.”
Bummer to 45-day IL
The Sox moved left-handed reliever Aaron Bummer (biceps strain) to the 45-day injured list but still expect him to return this season. Bummer has been out since Aug. 8.
“It doesn’t change the schedule we’re on,” Renteria said. “He’s still on his throwing program — there’s no change. We’re still expecting him. He’s on schedule.”
The Sox also put lefty Jace Fry on the 10-day IL with back spasms and called up right-hander Alex McRae from Schaumburg. McRae was 0-4 with an 8.78 ERA in 11 appearances (two starts) with the Pirates last season.
Rodon on hold
Renteria said starter Carlos Rodon, out since Aug. 4 with a shoulder injury, was scheduled to throw Friday, but “he ended up not feeling too good, so we had to modify his schedule and we’ll revisit it once we see how he’s feeling [Saturday and Sunday].”
