Hitting coach Frank Menechino sees this when he sees Eloy Jimenez on his current hot streak:
“Taking his walks, being selective,” Menechino said.
He also sees Jimenez swatting home runs, and Jimenez hit a three-run shot in his first at-bat against Chad Kuhl (6-9) on Tuesday night — his 13th long ball of the season and his fourth in his last eight games — helping the Sox to a 4-2 win over the Rockies.
“I am more disciplined than every year that I played here, and I feel good,” said Jimenez, who’s batting .500 with 12 RBI in his last eight games.
Jose Abreu homered against Justin Lawrence in the eighth to snap a career-high 37-game homerless streak. He also singled and walked and hiked his average to .312.
“It was beautiful,” acting manager Miguel Cairo said of the long-awaited homer. “That was a big run right there.”
The Sox, 10-3 in their previous 13 games, won before a paid crowd of 23,606 at Guaranteed Rate Field to stay within three games of the division-leading Guardians (75-65), who beat the Angels for their fifth straight win. The Sox (73-69) trail the Guardians by four in the loss column with 20 games left.
“It’s come down to the wire,” said Michael Kopech (5-9), who pitched five innings of two-run ball. “We wouldn’t like it to be that way. But with all that’s happened for us this year, us playing hard here towards the end has gone a long way for us.”
Kopech allowed three hits, including a two-run homer to Alan Trejo in the third.
Jimmy Lambert, Reynaldo Lopez and Kendall Graveman pitched scoreless innings of setup relief for closer Liam Hendriks, who pitched a scoreless ninth for his 33rd save.
The Sox have four games left with the Guardians, including one in Cleveland on Thursday (a makeup of a rainout).
Anderson back next week?
Shortstop Tim Anderson, recovering from surgery on the middle finger of his left hand, ramped up his baseball work after getting clearance from a specialist Tuesday and could return as soon as late next week, general manager Rick Hahn said.
A rehab stint at Charlotte is “a possibility, yes,” Hahn said. “Is it a certainty? No. Let’s just see how this ramp-up goes.”
Robert returns to lineup
Luis Robert, who had started in two of the last 16 games, was back in the lineup after dealing with a sore left wrist and hand. Robert (0-for-4) made hard contact his first two at-bats, but his swing looked compromised when he struck out his last two at-bats.
“We did not place him on the IL because I don’t think at any point, either prior to his most recent return or in the period of time between when he was hit in the hand and tonight, that more than 10 days elapsed,” Hahn said. “We were trying to maximize his availability.”
This and that
Lance Lynn could be moved up in the rotation to face the Guardians on Thursday, Cairo said. Lynn would pitch on four days’ rest, and Lucas Giolito’s turn would be pushed back.
— Hahn tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday morning. He said his symptoms were mild and that he hoped to return to the ballpark next week.
