WHITE SOX HEADLINES OF AUGUST 4, 2017 “Thursday's best: Calhoun homers for first hit with Express” … Mike Rosenbaum, MLB.com “Rodon tries to tame Red Sox bats, knot series” … Scott Merkin, MLB.com “W. Garcia has broken jaw, out 4 to 6 weeks” … Scott Merkin, MLB.com “Moncada rejoins White Sox lineup in Boston” … Scott Merkin, MLB.com “Jose Abreu knocked over a camera reaching for a foul ball, so he politely picked it up” … Andrew Mearns, MLB Cut4 “Gonzalez roughed up early in loss at Fenway” … Evan Chronus and Scott Merkin, MLB.com “Delmonico provides quite a thrill for family” … Scott Merkin, MLB.com “CT scan reveals broken Jaw for White Sox outfielder Willy Garcia” … Dan Hayes, CSN Chicago “Influx of talent from July trades result in No. 1 ranking for White Sox farm system” … Dan Hayes, CSN Chicago “Yoan Moncada happy to return to Fenway: 'I've improved a lot'” … Dan Hayes, CSN Chicago “Oh, brother: Nicky Delmonico makes another Fenway Park memory with oldest sibling” … Dan Hayes, CSN Chicago “Chris Sale won't face White Sox in upcoming 4-game series in Boston” … Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune “White Sox's Willy Garcia to miss 4-6 weeks with broken jaw after collision” … Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune “White Sox pitcher Miguel Gonzalez rocked by Red Sox in 9-5 loss” … Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune “In return to Boston, White Sox rookie Yoan Moncada says trade was 'best for my career'” … Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune “Nicky Delmonico's first Fenway experience as player includes 1st career home run” … Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune “Aug. 4, 1993: The Robin Ventura vs. Nolan Ryan fight” … Joey Reaves, Chicago Tribune “Willy Garcia has surgery to repair broken jaw” … Daryl Van Schouwen, Chicago Sun-Times “White Sox’ top prospect Yoan Moncada cuts the cord with Red Sox” … Daryl Van Schouwen, Chicago Sun-Times “White Sox’ Nicky Delmonico enjoys first career home run” … Daryl Van Schouwen, Chicago Sun-Times “North: White Sox taking a hit over traffic issues” … Mike North, Daily Herald “Devers has 3-run homer for Red Sox in 9-5 win over White Sox” … Doug Alden, Associated Press “Yoan Moncada: Wasn't ready for quick transition from minors in '16”… Scott Lauber, ESPN.com “Yoan Moncada will return for White Sox while Willy Garcia will miss at least a month”… ESPN.com news services

Thursday's best: Calhoun homers for first hit with Express By Mike Rosenbaum / MLB.com | Aug. 4, 2017 After going hitless in his debut for Triple-A Round Rock, a more relaxed Willie Calhoun had no trouble squaring up the baseball on Thursday night. Calhoun, the new Rangers No. 3 prospect (No. 69 overall), launched a solo homer in the first inning and later added an RBI double before finishing 2-for-4 in his second game with the Express, a 6-1 win over Albuquerque. The Rangers' key return in the Trade Deadline blockbuster that sent Yu Darvish to Hollywood, Calhoun batted .298/.357/.574 with 23 home runs in 99 games during his time with Triple-A Oklahoma City. He also scored 64 runs and plated 67, all while posting a strong 36-to-49 walk-to-strikeout ratio in 414 plate appearances. After seeing much of his playing time at second base with Albuquerque, Calhoun has started both of his games for Round Rock in left field. It's the 22-year-old's bat, however, that will get him to the Major Leagues, where his left-handed power and aggressive approach could make him an impactful designated hitter. The rest of the best performances from top prospects Thursday • White Sox No. 16 prospect Micker Adolfo's breakout season continued Thursday as the 20-year-old outfielder put together his first career multi-homer game, going 2-for-4 with a pair of solo shot for Class A Kannapolis. After slashing .221/.273/.354 with six homers for the Intimidators in 2016, Adolfo has returned to the South Atlantic League this season to hit .277/.342/.478 with 14 homers and 27 doubles in 96 games.

Rodon tries to tame Red Sox bats, knot series By Scott Merkin / MLB.com | Aug. 3, 2017 Eduardo Rodriguez has made three starts without a victory since coming off the disabled list due to right knee subluxation. The southpaw tries to end that winless streak Friday night against lefty Carlos Rodon and the White Sox at Fenway Park. "Lot of pitches. Lot of foul balls. Deep counts," said Red Sox manager John Farrell of Rodriguez before Thursday night's series opener. "This is a very aggressive fastball-hitting team where a change of speeds might have a little bit more of an effect. "As Eddy does he gets a lot of swing and miss up, they fouled off a lot of those pitches, they took some pitches. The pitch count climbed on him. His night was cut short, but he gave us everything he had." Rodriguez, 24, threw 107 pitches in four innings over his last start against the Royals. Rodon, also 24, gets the call for the White Sox, making his seventh start since returning from the 60-day disabled list June 28. Rodon has struck out 20 over his past two starts combined, although he did not pick up a victory in either one. Things to know about this game • Matt Davidson continues to experience soreness in his right wrist and is unlikely to play Friday. • This season, Rodon's rate of four-seam fastballs has risen from about 32 percent last season to 52 percent, and he is getting 47.5 percent of his strikeouts with the pitch, up from 18.5 percent. Of the three times in his career he has recorded at least five strikeouts on four-seamers in a single game, two have come in his past two outings. • Rafael Devers has homered in two of his past four games.

W. Garcia has broken jaw, out 4 to 6 weeks White Sox relieved injury wasn't more serious; Davidson (wrist) remains out

By Scott Merkin / MLB.com | Aug. 3, 2017

BOSTON -- White Sox outfielder Willy Garcia will miss the next four to six weeks after having surgery Thursday to insert a plate into his jaw. A CT scan taken Wednesday in Chicago revealed a fractured right jaw for Garcia, who took a Yoan Moncada knee to the side of the head when the two collided chasing a Darwin Barney popup Monday. "From the initial injury, we thought it was being concussed," said White Sox manager Rick Renteria of Garcia, who is on the seven-day disabled list with a concussion. "That presenting itself after further follow-up, it's just one of those things you don't expect it but it is what it is. It occurred, somehow they corrected it and hopefully he'll be OK in a few weeks." Even with the broken jaw diagnosed and repaired, the White Sox know the situation could have been a great deal worse if the impact was higher up on Garcia's head. "All of us are happy that it wasn't his skull," Renteria said. "That would have obviously been much more serious. Not that the blow he took wasn't serious, but he's going to be OK." Davidson remains out Matt Davidson missed a second straight game Friday due to a bruised right wrist after being hit by a Marcus Stroman pitch Tuesday and leaving the game early. He continues to be listed as day to day. "We are just doing routine treatment on it and we'll just kind of see how it goes," Davidson said. "I sat in on a bullpen [session] and tried to keep track of some pitches. But the wrist is still pretty sore, so we are taking it day by day." A CT scan taken Wednesday on Davidson's wrist was clean and confirmed a bruise. Davidson, who leads the team with 22 home runs, said Thursday that there wasn't a need yet to do a MRI on the injured area. "In a couple of days, which I hope we never get there, we might go there if I'm still sensitive in there and stuff like that," Davidson said. "I got hit pretty good in a sensitive area. There is just swelling we are getting out of there. It is moving better as every day goes by, but it still doesn't feel comfortable." A. Garcia cleared to start doing work

Avisail Garcia has gotten the green light to begin light bat grips and dry swings. The first-time All-Star, who is on the 10-day disabled list with a sprained right thumb, has been playing catch.

Moncada rejoins White Sox lineup in Boston MLB's No. 1 prospect 0-for-2 in return, says Red Sox treated him 'very fair' By Scott Merkin / MLB.com | Aug. 3, 2017 BOSTON -- Thursday's series-opening 9-5 loss for the White Sox at Fenway Park marked a couple of different returns for Yoan Moncada, the No. 1 prospect in all of baseball per MLBPipeline.com. The switch-hitter returned to the White Sox starting lineup, batting fourth, after missing two games as a result of a collision with Willy Garcia while chasing a Darwin Barney popup Monday. Moncada suffered a bruise just above his right knee, but proclaimed himself 100 percent. Moncada also came back to where his professional and big league career began upon arrival from Cuba, before he was traded by Boston in a five-player deal sending Chris Sale to the top of the Red Sox rotation this past December. Moncada called Fenway Park a special place for him, finishing 0-for-2 with two walks and two runs scored Thursday. "I'm excited just because I'm going to see the guys I played with and the people from the front office who treated me very fair here," Moncada said befor the game through interpreter Billy Russo. "I wasn't expecting to be traded at the moment the team traded me. "It was a good opportunity for me. Now I'm with this team, and I feel that was the best for me, that was the best for my career. I'm just glad it happened." In 40 at-bats for the White Sox this season, playing an everyday role at second base, Moncada has knocked out one home run, one triple and one double among his four hits. He also has fanned 17 times with eight walks. Over 19 at-bats after being called up by the Red Sox last season, Moncada had four hits and 12 strikeouts. The results on paper don't appear to be much different, but the plate approach appears more refined for Moncada along with solid defense at second. "I have improved a lot, all over my game, but especially my defense," said Moncada, who has returned to his natural position after playing third base in his brief Major League stint with the Red Sox. "That was an area I had to work hard to get to the point where I am right now. I used my time in Triple-A to develop that area specifically. I feel good. I feel right now I'm a better player than I was last year. "It's not that I wasn't ready. It's that it was too fast for me. I was playing in the Minors and then I was suddenly in the Majors. That was really fast for me. Probably things didn't go well at that time, and that created a bigger issue. But it wasn't like I wasn't ready. It was just too fast." Rafael Devers, the No. 4 overall prospect per MLBPipeline.com, started at third base for the Red Sox and homered in the first. Moncada described Devers -- who hit a two-run homer in Boston's four-run first inning -- as a very good player and was happy he's getting this opportunity. But Moncada has taken what he learned with Boston and is applying it to his growth with the White Sox. "They taught me how to play at this level and how to make adjustments," Moncada said of the Red Sox, citing former Boston slugger David Ortiz for his assistance. "It's a process for young people like me. I took all of the advice, and it's helped me." "He's a tremendous athlete. Explosive abilities, we saw it last year," Boston manager John Farrell said. "He's a highly touted, extremely talented young guy. The comparison will be from when we saw him for the stretch of games he was here last year and how has another year of games under his belt enabled him to make adjustments along the way."

Jose Abreu knocked over a camera reaching for a foul ball, so he politely picked it up By Andrew Mearns / MLB Cut4 | Aug. 3, 2017 By nature, baseball occasionally ends up causing an awkward intersection between the players on the field doing their job and the photographers just outside the field trying to do theirs. That's what happened on Thursday night in Boston, when Hanley Ramirez lifted a second-inning popup into foul territory on the first-base side.

Jose Abreu tracked the ball as it approached the camera well, and he tried to reach for the catch. However, it landed just out of range, and in the attempt, Abreu knocked over one of the photographers' cameras, which had been perched on the well. Like a good samaritan, Abreu cleaned up after himself. Consider Abreu the winner of the prestigious (and totally not made up right now) "MLB Gentleman of the Day Award." He deserves it!

Gonzalez roughed up early in loss at Fenway By Evan Chronus and Scott Merkin / MLB.com | Aug. 3, 2017 BOSTON -- Finally, the Red Sox's offense came to the aid of Rick Porcello. Boston's bats got off to a quick start against the fledgling White Sox on Thursday night, posting seven runs in the first two innings to propel the Red Sox to a 9-5 victory in the series opener at Fenway Park. Coupled with the Yankees' loss to the Indians, Boston holds a two-game lead in the American League East. Porcello (5-14, 4.70 ERA) earned his first win since June 23, however, the right-hander didn't make it an easy night for himself. The reigning American League Cy Young Award winner gave up five runs in 5 1/3 innings. In the third, Porcello gave up his career-high 26th home run of the season to Nicky Delmonico, who hit a three-run shot for his first big league dinger. "Early on, there were a couple of offspeed pitches that found their way into the middle of the plate," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "The biggest one obviously is the leadoff breaking ball to Delmonico." "Uncharacteristically for Rick, there were a couple of walks mixed in there, which has not been the case," Farrell added. "But then he got better location with his fastball and attacked a little bit more the next couple innings." Luckily for Porcello, Boston's bats were firing on all cylinders, amassing 15 hits. The offense seems to be hitting the groove that fans have been expecting all summer, scoring six or more runs in four of the past five games. Every starting position player had at least one hit and eight players scored at least one run. Rookie Andrew Benintendi, who had gotten the past two games off to clear his head after a tough July, went 3-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI single and reached base all five times. "We are swinging the bats well and have to continue to throw the ball well," Porcello said. "That's the recipe right there. If we do that, we'll win a lot of games. We need to do that for the next two months." Rafael Devers' impressive first homestand at Fenway Park continued, with the 20-year-old hitting an opposite-field two-run shot over the Green Monster in his first at-bat. Mookie Betts followed that blast the next inning, sending a two-run moonshot onto Landsdowne Street in the second. Miguel Gonzalez (5-10, 5.15 ERA), who has been kryptonite to the Red Sox, had a performance he'd like to quickly forget. The right-hander gave up seven earned runs and two home runs in just 1 2/3 innings. "He just left some balls out over the plate," White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. "These guys are good hitters and they take advantage of mistakes." "I felt really good in the bullpen. Command-wise, good," Gonzalez said. "But then in the game, things changed. It's something I'm going to have to work on and move on." For the White Sox, the loss was their 20th in their past 24 games. In his first appearance at Fenway since being traded over the offseason, White Sox top prospect and second baseman Yoan Moncada went 0-for-2 with two walks and two runs scored in his return from a collision Monday. MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Devers delivers, Moncada watches: In the first, Boston's new golden boy made a statement in front of the man who once held that moniker. Devers, the Red Sox's No. 1 prospect, hit his third homer of the season to extend the Red Sox's lead to 4-0. As he rounded first base, Devers trotted past Moncada, the Red Sox's former No. 1 prospect, who was included in

the Chris Sale trade in the offseason. According to Statcast™, the shot went 357 feet and was hit with an exit velocity of 97.8 mph. "The Green Monster definitely affects me in a positive way," Devers said. "Just being able to hit it towards the wall and have it give me some extra-base hits is clutch." "There's a natural confidence in there that he exudes and you can never replace getting off to a quick start," Farrell said of Devers. "That's going to build. But the beauty of what he's doing is that he hasn't really swung at pitches outside of the strike zone. He's very disciplined." Porcello gets his revenge, saves run: With two outs in the fifth and a man on third base, Porcello faced a batter in Delmonico who had bested him earlier in the evening. With the score at 7-5, Porcello had to leave no room for error to keep himself in line for the win. In the culmination of an eight-pitch at-bat, the right-hander fooled Delmonico with a four-seam fastball for a called third strike. "I just wanted to pitch as deep as I could and not let anyone else cross the plate," Porcello said of the fifth. QUOTABLE "Yeah, just felt like I was in the zone too much. I was getting ahead and things didn't work out. They capitalized early. They hit every single mistake. And that's the type of ballclub they have. They are going to be aggressive no matter what." -- Gonzalez, on his rough night SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS With his homer, Devers became the fourth Red Sox player since 1900 to hit three home runs in his first eight games. The last to do it was Mo Vaughn in 1991. "I didn't think that it was going to be this good, but at the same time, I put in the work and I worked so hard to get good results," Devers said about his hot start. "I think that's what we're seeing." WHAT'S NEXT White Sox: On Friday at 6:10 p.m. CT at Fenway, Carlos Rodon (1-4, 5.23 ERA) makes his seventh start of the season since returning from the 60-day disabled list. The southpaw has fanned 20 over his past two starts against the Cubs and the Indians, but did not pick up a victory in either game. Red Sox: Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez (4-3, 4.16 ERA) will try for his first win since coming off the disabled list in mid-July when he takes the Fenway mound Friday at 7:10 p.m. ET. Rodriguez has a 6.75 ERA in his three starts since his return. Watch every out-of-market regular-season game live on MLB.TV.

Delmonico provides quite a thrill for family With brother and parents at Fenway, White Sox rookie belts first career HR By Scott Merkin / MLB.com | Aug. 3, 2017 BOSTON -- Hitting career home run No. 1 at Fenway Park, as White Sox rookie Nicky Delmonico did Thursday night during his team's 9-5 loss to the Red Sox, ranks pretty high up the charts in terms of historical context. Reaching that accomplishment with his older brother, Joey, in the stands makes the moment even more memorable. It brought them both back to a Yankees-Red Sox game they attended together as fans back in 2003. "That was the last time I was here," a beaming Nicky said postgame of his three-run blast to right off defending American League Cy Young Award winner Rick Porcello in the third inning. "I got to see [Joey] before BP and give him a hug. It was pretty cool to do it tonight, not just at Fenway, but with him watching, too." "When we were in Chicago I looked at the schedule and was like, 'They're going to Fenway,'" said Joey, standing with their mom, their stepdad and Joey's wife, Monica, outside the visitors' clubhouse. "The fact that Nicky was able to play the Green Monster and play left field, it was so surreal. And after that home run, talk about emotions going wild. We couldn't even contain it. You can't write this stuff."

Delmonico only played 13 games in left field at Triple-A Charlotte before being called up to the White Sox, so learning the position remains a work in progress for the talented young man. But playing against the unique obstacle that is the Green Monster made life a little tougher defensively. In the second, Rafael Devers reached on an error charged to Delmonico when he overran a fly ball. To Delmonico's credit, he recovered in time to throw a strike to shortstop Tim Anderson, who then nailed Hanley Ramirez at the plate. "We were out there early getting reads off the wall, and it could hit somewhere and take left or right, especially if it hits the scoreboard part," Delmonico said. "I have to keep working out there as much as I can and try to get comfortable." "He's going to continue to work at that position," White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. "We're going to see if he can continue to improve. Coupled with being here against the big Monster, there's a wind tunnel out there. He made a nice diving play on a sinking line drive coming in." That diving play spoken of by Renteria came in the fourth, when Delmonico took extra bases away from Ramirez. Delmonico added a single in the second to the long home run to right, with an exit velocity of 105.5 mph per Statcast™, and was able to retrieve that piece of personal history. Joey will be the recipient of this baseball, signed by his brother. "If you'd have seen me midgame, you would have seen me with emotions, man," Joey said. "We couldn't contain it. We were in the stands. "That's my best friend, my little baby brother. I love that kid more than anything. This is so surreal. Everything is like, 'Wake me up, this is a dream.' And the first home run at Fenway? Come on."

CT scan reveals broken Jaw for White Sox outfielder Willy Garcia By Dan Hayes / CSN Chicago | Aug. 3, 2017 BOSTON -- Willy Garcia suffered a fractured right jaw as a result of his collision with Yoan Moncada and is out 4-6 weeks, the team announced Thursday. Already on the seven-day disabled list with a concussion, the White Sox outfielder will miss at least a month after he has a procedure to insert a plate into his jaw. Moncada missed two days with a right knee contusion but returns to the lineup Thursday when the White Sox open a four-game series against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Garcia spoke to reporters for several minutes during a postgame media session on Monday and was upbeat. He also reported improvement on Tuesday. "All of us are happy that it wasn’t his skull," manager Rick Renteria said. "That would have obviously been much more serious. Not that the blow he took wasn’t serious but he’s going to be OK." The two players collided on a fly ball to short right field in the sixth inning of Monday’s game. Both men stayed down after the collision with Garcia knocked out cold after he was struck on the right side of the head by Moncada’s knee. “When I saw the video, I saw the collision, I was like, ‘Wow, that was hard,’ ” Garcia said Monday. “ At first, I was knocked out. I didn’t remember anything before I saw the video. And then I saw the video, and I said, ‘Wow, it was hard.’ ” Moncada is making his return to Fenway Park one year after he debuted for the Red Sox. The rookie was acquired by the White Sox as part of the four-player return for Chris Sale in December.

Influx of talent from July trades result in No. 1 ranking for White Sox farm system By Dan Hayes / CSN Chicago | Aug. 3, 2017 BOSTON — The rave reviews continue to pour in for the White Sox farm system, which is the now top-rated minor league system in baseball, according to MLBPipeline.com. MLB Pipeline and Baseball America each released their latest organizational rankings on Thursday with the former anointing the White Sox as the top system among baseball’s 30 teams. The White Sox also received the No. 2 farm system ranking from Baseball America behind the Atlanta Braves.

A series of never-ending trades in July, five in all involving seven major leaguers, depleted the 25-man roster, but also brought back an incredible amount of minor league talent to push the White Sox over to the top in the eyes of both publications. The White Sox acquired top-100 prospects Eloy Jimenez, Blake Rutherford and Dylan Cease and eight other minor leaguers in those deals. Prior to July, the White Sox added seven prospects to their system in deals for Chris Sale and Adam Eaton. It’s quite the turnaround for a system that was generally thought to be in the lower-third of baseball only nine months ago. “It’s been an exciting time around here,” general manager Rick Hahn said last month. “In terms of what we’ve been able to do since December, last draft or wherever you want to draw that line, we’re pleased. But at the same time, we know we have more work to do.” Hahn has done the bulk of his work since May, dispelling any notions the White Sox hadn’t fully committed to the rebuild. First, he signed international free agent Luis Robert. Then he continued a massive overhaul of the roster with a series of trades that has gutted the roster. Critics who believed the team only traded Eaton and Sale last winter to rid themselves of malcontents have been silenced as Hahn dumped seven helpful players in July in exchange for 11 minor leaguers and one veteran (Tyler Clippard). The team’s choice to dump nine of its best players since last offseason has also heavily increased its odds of landing a high pick in the 2018 amateur draft. While not everyone is on board with the plan to tear down and start over again, a majority of fans have expressed excitement that the club has defined its direction. Hahn said last month he appreciates the love from the fans but it wouldn’t prevent him from making what would be seen as an unpopular move as long as the White Sox think it can help them out. “It has been very positive,” Hahn said. “There’s a good feel in the front office, throughout various departments, and a good feeling throughout the fan base, at least from what I’ve heard from the people who reached out to me through the emails and calls I’ve gotten. “Regardless of the risk we might lose some of that good feeling as that process continues, we are going to remain focused on what we feel is best for the long-term health of the organization. Hopefully those moves continue to resonate with the fan base. If they don’t, hopefully they at least see where we think this thing is headed and why we’re making the moves we are.”

Yoan Moncada happy to return to Fenway: 'I've improved a lot' By Dan Hayes / CSN Chicago | Aug. 3, 2017 BOSTON — He was a little surprised when his meteoric rise through the farm system brought him here and struggled after his promotion. But Yoan Moncada has only positive memories of Fenway Park and his brief time with the Boston Red Sox. The White Sox second baseman was all smiles for his return to the home of the Green Monster on Thursday night. Moncada — who received a $31.5 million signing bonus from the Red Sox in March 2015 — the December trade that sent him to the White Sox was surprising. But he also felt Boston treated him fairly. Moncada went 0-for-2 with two runs and two walks in his return, though the White Sox fell to the Red Sox 9-5. While he labored in his month with the 2016 Red Sox, Moncada thinks it better prepared him to handle his mid-July promotion to the White Sox. “Last year I wasn’t expecting to play in the majors,” Moncada said through an interpreter. “When they told me, I was happy because of course that’s what every ballplayer wants. But I think that I wasn’t ready. This year, I know what my role is and I know I’m going to be playing every day. Because I have experience from last year, that made me feel more comfortable, and I think that I’m more prepared for this opportunity.” Moncada had only accrued 207 plate appearances at Double-A when he was promoted to the majors in 2016. And after he played 92 games at second base, Boston moved him to third base to see if Moncada could fill the void left by Pablo Sandoval’s injury. Moncada played sparingly, striking out 12 times in the 20 plate appearances he had with Boston. Though he was up for a month, Moncada played only eight games, starting four times. Moncada said he learned a lot about the grind, preparation and how to make adjustments from now-retired veteran David Ortiz. He also loved Fenway, where he played only once, striking out in a pinch-hit plate appearance on Sept. 12.

“It’s a special place for me,” Moncada said. “I played here last year, and it feels good. “I’m excited just because I’m going to see the guys I played with and the people from the front office who treated me very fair here.” Though the results haven’t come so far, Moncada is confident they will. He feels good about his process and approach at the plate. The rookie drew walks in each of his first two plate appearances on Thursday, including the first after he fell behind 2016 AL Cy Young Award winner Rick Porcello 1-2 in the count in the second inning. Moncada also had a chance to display his strong arm in the sixth inning when a Christian Vazquez grounder kicked off the glove of White Sox reliever Brad Goldberg. Moncada ranged to his right, retrieved the ball and fired a strike to first for the out. He also showed off his speed in the second inning when Moncada sped from first to third base on Nicky Delmonico’s single. “I learned a lot from the Red Sox players like Ortiz,” Moncada said. “They taught me how to play at this level and how to make adjustments. It’s a process for young people like me. I took all of the advice, and it’s helped me. “I have improved a lot, all over my game, but especially my defense. That was an area I had to work hard to get to the point where I am right now. I used my time in Triple=A to develop that area specifically. I feel good. I feel right now I’m a better player than I was last year.”

Oh, brother: Nicky Delmonico makes another Fenway Park memory with oldest sibling By Dan Hayes / CSN Chicago | Aug. 3, 2017 BOSTON — Nicky Delmonico’s brother might not have been on hand for his first career homer on Thursday night had he not looked at the upcoming schedule. Much like most of the family, Joey Delmonico had spent the previous two days in Chicago to watch his younger brother make his major league debut with the White Sox on Tuesday night. He’d made the trip from Florida to see the first two games and share in the excitement, including watching Nicky Delmonico’s first big league hit. But once they noticed where the White Sox were headed, Joey and his wife, Monica, knew they had to come to Fenway Park. One of baseball’s most storied venues also happens to be the site of the last game the two siblings attended as fans back in 2003. On Thursday, Nicky made Fenway Park even more memorable to the pair when he blasted the first home run of his career in a 9-5 White Sox loss to the Boston Red Sox. “We were Red Sox fans and we wanted to see the Green Monster,” Joey Delmonico said. “That was the last game me and Nicky went to because we’ve been traveling and went to college. All of us have our summer schedules. “When we were in Chicago, I looked at the schedule and was like, they’re going to Fenway. “The fact that Nicky was able to play the Green Monster and play left field, it was so surreal. And after that home run, talk about emotions going wild. We couldn’t even contain it. You can’t write this stuff.” Nicky Delmonico barely remembers the moment it went by so quickly. Having singled in his first at-bat against Rick Porcello, Delmonico felt a little more comfort when he stepped to the plate in the third inning with the White Sox trailing 7-2. With two on and two outs, Porcello left a first-pitch curveball up and Delmonico hammered it — the exit velo was 105.5 mph — 380 feet for a three-run homer to deep right. “I made solid contact with it, and I don’t know, I went too fast around the bases,” Nicky Delmonico said. “It didn’t really register that I did it. But it was awesome. It was a great feeling.” So, too, was calling his brother to let him know about the promotion late Monday night. Joey Delmonico said he received the call at 11:37 p.m. EST and they immediately began to plan the trip. More than two hours later, he had to remind Nicky to try and rest. Given all his brother has overcome to reach this point, Joey Delmonico, who played collegiately at Georgia, didn’t want to miss a moment. He and Monica knew they had to extend their trip for a few more days. The homer only made it that much more special. Nicky Delmonico said he was able to get the ball back and intends to autograph it and give it to his oldest brother.

“If you’d have seen me midgame you would have seen me, with emotions man, we couldn’t contain it,” Joey Delmonico said. “We were in the stands. That’s my best friend, my little baby brother. I love that kid more than anything. This is so surreal. Everything is like, ‘Wake me up, this is a dream.’ And the first home run at Fenway? Come on. “When we found out Fenway was coming up we had to come here.”

Chris Sale won't face White Sox in upcoming 4-game series in Boston By Colleen Kane / Chicago Tribune | Aug. 3, 2017 Rain forced the postponement of the Red Sox game against the Indians on Wednesday, and that means left-hander Chris Sale won’t be on schedule to face his former White Sox team during a four-game series at Fenway Park. Sale originally was lined up to start Sunday against the White Sox, but the Red Sox bumped their rotation back after the rainout. The new pitching matchups are as follows. Thursday: Miguel Gonzalez vs. Rick Porcello Friday: Carlos Rodon vs. Eduardo Rodriguez Saturday: James Shields vs. Drew Pomeranz Sunday: Mike Pelfrey vs. Doug Fister Sale, whom the White Sox traded to the Red Sox in December for a four-player package that included Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech, already faced the White Sox this season, in a matchup at Guaranteed Rate Field. On May 30, he gave up six runs — five earned — on 10 hits in his return to the South Side, but he still earned the victory.

White Sox's Willy Garcia to miss 4-6 weeks with broken jaw after collision By Colleen Kane / Chicago Tribune | Aug. 3, 2017 White Sox outfielder Willy Garcia had surgery to insert a plate in his fractured right jaw Thursday and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks. Garcia suffered the injury during an outfield collision Monday with second baseman Yoan Moncada, whose knee hit Garcia in the head while both were attempting to make a catch. Garcia was placed on the seven-day concussion disabled list Tuesday, but a follow-up CT scan showed the fracture. Garcia was batting .258 with five doubles, two home runs, 11 RBIs, nine walks and 29 strikeouts over 40 games with the Sox. He had been recalled from Triple-A Charlotte on July 27 to fill in for Avisail Garcia, who is on the disabled list with a strained ligament in his right thumb. "All of us are happy that it wasn't his skull," Sox manager Rick Renteria said. "That would have obviously been much more serious. Not that the blow he took wasn't serious, but he's going to be OK." Moncada suffered a bruised right knee but was back in the lineup Thursday after missing two games. Avisail Garcia has been cleared to begin light bat grips and dry swings and has been playing catch. Still out: Sox third baseman Matt Davidson said his bruised right wrist still was too sore to play Thursday, two days after he was hit by a pitch. But he sat in on a bullpen session to track pitches to keep sharp. "I got hit pretty good in a sensitive area," Davidson said. "There is just swelling we are getting out of there. And it is moving better as every day goes by. But it still doesn't feel comfortable."

White Sox pitcher Miguel Gonzalez rocked by Red Sox in 9-5 loss By Colleen Kane / Chicago Tribune | Aug. 3, 2017 White Sox right-hander Miguel Gonzalez gave up seven earned runs over 1 2/3 innings, and the Red Sox ran away with a 9-5 victory in the opener of a four-game series at Fenway Park. Rafael Devers and Mookie Betts each hit two-run homers off Gonzalez, who allowed more hits (seven) than he recorded outs (five). Hanley Ramirez had an RBI double in the first and an RBI single in the second to end Gonzalez’s night. It was Gonzalez’s shortest outing of the season.

The Sox scored against Red Sox right-hander Rick Porcello in the second inning. Yoan Moncada, making his return to Fenway Park for the first time since the Red Sox traded him, walked in his first plate appearance and scored after back-to-back singles from Nicky Delmonico and Tyler Saladino. Tim Anderson’s RBI groundout allowed another run to score. A first Nicky Delmonico hit his first career homer in the third inning off Porcello. Leury Garcia singled and Moncada walked to get on base before Delmonico hit the first pitch out to right field to cut it to 7-5. In relief Andrew Benintendi hit an RBI single off David Holmberg in the fifth, and Mitch Moreland added an RBI double off Brad Goldberg in the sixth. The quote “I just felt like I was in the zone too much. I was getting ahead and things didn’t work out. They capitalized early. They hit every single mistake. And that’s the type of ballclub they have. They are going to be aggressive no matter what.” --Gonzalez Up next At Red Sox, 7:10 p.m. Friday.

In return to Boston, White Sox rookie Yoan Moncada says trade was 'best for my career' By Colleen Kane / Chicago Tribune | Aug. 3, 2017 Yoan Moncada returned to face the team that traded him away for the first time Thursday night, and if the White Sox second baseman had any wistfulness about leaving the Red Sox in the blockbuster Chris Sale trade in December, he wasn't letting on. Before a 9-5 White Sox loss to the Red Sox, Moncada said he was happy to catch up with former teammates and executives at Fenway Park, but he added he hadn't paid much attention to the American League East leaders this season. He is too wrapped up in his first few weeks with the rebuilding White Sox, where he faces a very different set of circumstances than he did in Boston. "I wasn't expecting to be traded," Moncada, 22, said through a team interpreter. "It was a good opportunity for me. Now I'm with this team, and I feel that was the best for me, that was the best for my career. I'm just glad it happened." When he was traded, and then with the White Sox organization before his call-up, Moncada was rated the top prospect in baseball. The Red Sox signed him to a $31.5 million bonus out of Cuba in 2015. After missing two games with a bruised leg from an outfield collision Monday, Moncada went 0-for-2 with two walks Thursday. He scored his second run on Nicky Delmonico's first career homer, a three-run shot off Rick Porcello. But White Sox right-hander Miguel Gonzalez gave up seven earned runs over 1 2/3 innings, including two-run homers to Mookie Betts and Rafael Devers, Moncada's former minor-league teammate. The White Sox lost for the 20th time in 24 games, a stretch in part driven by the trades of seven veterans last month for a stockpile of prospects the Sox hope eventually will complement Moncada. When Moncada last played in Boston in September, the Red Sox were in search of a spark for a playoff push, and they had him play at third base, a position he had manned for just 10 games in the minors. He started the year in high Class A and had played just 45 games in Double A before his call.

The combination of the quick climb up the ranks, lofty expectations and the move away from his natural position at second base made for a difficult transition. He was 4-for-19 with an RBI, a walk and 12 strikeouts in eight games. "Last year I wasn't expecting to play in the majors," Moncada said. "When they told me, I was happy because of course that's what every ballplayer wants, but I think that I wasn't ready. This year, I know what my role is and I know I'm going to be playing every day. Because I have experience from last year, that made me feel more comfortable, and I'm more prepared for this opportunity. "(Last year's move) was really fast for me. Probably things didn't go well at that time, and that created a bigger issue." The White Sox kept Moncada at Triple A this season for longer than some might have expected, and he said his work on defense at second base over 80 games has been his biggest area of improvement since his time in Boston. He showed off a smooth running throw on Christian Vazquez's grounder in the sixth Thursday. "He has made some spectacular plays for us that are like eye-opening, jaw-dropping," Sox manager Rick Renteria said. "We know as a young player he still has so much more in the tank." Moncada is 4-for-40 with a double, a triple, a homer, six RBIs, eight walks and 17 strikeouts over 13 games. But Renteria said he has been happy with his at-bats, stressing his need for continued development. "He's very calm in the box," Renteria said. "He's a confident young man. When he comes away from a particular at-bat, if he has been frustrated by a sequencing they might have done with him, the look he brings into the dugout is — 'I can't wait to get back out there the next time.'"

Nicky Delmonico's first Fenway experience as player includes 1st career home run By Colleen Kane / Chicago Tribune | Aug. 4, 2017 Nicky Delmonico made the trip around the bases too fast to really soak in what had just happened Thursday night. In his third career game, and his first at Fenway Park, the White Sox rookie homered off reigning Cy Young Award winner Rick Porcello. Delmonico’s two-out, three-run homer to right field on the first pitch he saw in the third inning was the highlight of a 9-5 loss that the Red Sox led from start to finish. “I made solid contact with it, and I don’t know, I went too fast around the bases,” Delmonico said. “It didn’t really register that I did it. But it was awesome. It was a great feeling.” Delmonico was just called up to make his major-league debut Tuesday, and he became the 16th White Sox player since at least 1913 to homer within his first three career games. He also singled Thursday and is 3-for-11 with a walk, three RBIs and three runs scored so far. “He had a very nice day with approaches,” Sox manager Rick Renteria said. “His at-bats were very, very good. He stung a couple of balls.” Delmonico had another unique experience Thursday playing left field in front of the Green Monster, a challenge for a player who had just 33 games of outfield experience in his minor-league career. Beyond trying to figure out bounces off the wall, he dropped a Rafael Devers’ fly ball for an error in the second inning but recovered to record an outfield assist by relaying a throw to catch Hanley Ramirez at the plate. He also made a tumbling catch on Ramirez's sinking liner in the fourth. He said he has been doing early outfield work with first-base coach Daryl Boston every day. “We were out there early getting reads off the wall, and it could hit somewhere and take a left or right, especially if it h its the scoreboard part,” Delmonico said. “I have to keep working out there as much as I can and try to get comfortable.” Delmonico will have three more games this weekend to soak up the atmosphere and quirks of Fenway, where he said he last came as a fan with his older brother, Joey, in 2003. He planned to sign the home run ball and give it to his brother later Thursday night.

“I got to see him before BP and give him a hug,” Delmonico said. “It was pretty cool to do it tonight, not just at Fenway, but with him watching too.”

Aug. 4, 1993: The Robin Ventura vs. Nolan Ryan fight By Joey Reaves / Chicago Tribune | Aug. 4, 2017 Note: The story originally appeared in the Chicago Tribune on Aug. 4, 1993 The Alamo was a fraternity party compared to what the White Sox and Texas Rangers did to each other Wednesday night. The Sox and Rangers took time out from a perfectly mundane baseball game to square off in one of the nastiest, dirtiest brawls to hit the plains of Texas in quite a spell. When it was all over, the Rangers delighted a crowd of 32,312 by coming from behind to knock out the Sox 5-2. The win was almost a must for the third-place Rangers, who used it to climb back to 5 1/2 behind the division-leading Sox with one game yet to play in a suddenly ugly series. Nolan Ryan started the free-for-all by drilling Robin Ventura on the right elbow with a fastball in the third inning. Ventura was incensed. He took Ryan's actions to be retaliation, plain and simple, for a series of incidents. "If you know the game, it's no secret what he was doing," said Ventura, his elbow encased in an elastic brace. "If you don't think he did it on purpose, you don't know the game." Ventura's reasoning is backed by some pretty solid circumstantial evidence. First was the timing: Ventura was hit just one inning after Sox starter Alex Fernandez plunked Texas slugger Juan Gonzalez-the fourth Ranger to be hit by a pitch in three games this season. In addition to that, Ventura was the logical target if Ryan wanted to retaliate against anyone. Ventura had singled in the first inning off Ryan to give the Sox a 1-0 lead. Ryan has a long reputation for throwing at hitters. He drilled Sox infielder Craig Grebeck in the back in 1990 after Grebeck and shortstop Ozzie Guillen had hit rare homers off him back-to-back. Last year, Ryan was ejected from a game for the first and only time in his career after he threw at Willie Wilson, who had tripled off him. Ventura had been hit on the same elbow just two weeks ago by Milwaukee's Cal Eldred. As soon as he was hit this time, Ventura grimaced in pain. He took a couple of steps toward first base, then thought better of it. Instead, Ventura took a sharp left turn, threw his batting helmet to the ground and charged Ryan. Ryan locked Ventura in the kind of armlock usually reserved for branding steers and started flailing away with punches. Five roundhouse shots in a row landed on top of Ventura's head. "He gave me a couple of noogies on my head and that's about all," said Ventura. Ryan was still swinging when a mass of humanity from both benches descended upon him. "I've had a couple of confrontations in my career, but nothing of that nature," said Ryan, who gave away 20 years to Ventura in the Battle of Arlington. "All I know is I was on the bottom of the pile and it felt like their whole team was on top of me. In that situation, you're totally at the mercy of your teammates." Texas coach Mickey Hatcher left the field with blood streaming down his face. He had a butterfly bandage on the wound in the clubhouse and said it was minor.

Usually mild-mannered Sox manager Gene Lamont was in the middle of things from start to finish and came out worse for the effort. Lamont had a trick knee go out on him when someone clipped him from the side. To add insult to injury, Lamont was ejected from the game. So was Ventura. But Ryan was allowed to stay and he pitched magnificently the rest of the night. He faced 13 batters and got 14 outs because he quickly got revenge for the fight by picking off Craig Grebeck, who had gone to first base to run for Ventura when things calmed down. "I think he should have been thrown out of the game," Lamont said of Ryan. "He hit Robin and he was the one throwing the punches. He should have been ejected, too." Lamont defended Ventura's decision to charge the mound. "Robin thought he was throwing at him and he did exactly what he should do," said Lamont. "It's strange that that was the only pitch that got away from him all night." And it was. Ryan (3-3) worked seven innings and gave up just two runs on three hits. It was his longest outing of the year and easily his feistiest. Alex Fernandez (12-6) had his worst outing in more than a month. "(The fight) didn't bother me at all," said Fernandez. "I thought I had Palmeiro struck out on the pitch before the home run. I only made one bad pitch and that was the double to Franco." That pitch was a lot more costly than the one bad one that Ryan made to Ventura.

Willy Garcia has surgery to repair broken jaw White Sox outfielder Willy Garcia underwent a procedure Thursday to insert a plate into his jaw By Daryl Van Schouwen / Chicago Sun-Times | Aug. 3, 2017 BOSTON — Willy Garcia, who suffered a violent blow to the side of his head in a collision with teammate Yoan Moncada on Monday night, has a fractured jaw in addition to the concussion that put him on the disabled list. The Sox announced Thursday that a CT scan taken Wednesday in Chicago on the right fielder revealed a fractured right jaw. Garcia had a plate inserted into his jaw Thursday and is expected to miss four to six weeks, which very well could mean his season is over. Garcia and Moncada, playing second base, converged on Darwin Barney’s short fly ball near the right-field line during the sixth inning of a Sox 7-6 victory. Garcia attempted to make a sliding catch, and Moncada, trying to avoid contact by jumping over him, struck Garcia with his right knee. The crowd at Guaranteed Rate Field gasped when a replay showed the hard contact causing Garcia’s head to snap from side to side. “From the initial injury, we thought it was [a concussion],’’ manager Rick Renteria said Thursday. All of us are happy that it wasn’t his skull. That would have obviously been much more serious. Not that the blow he took wasn’t serious, but he’s going to be OK.’’ Moncada was back in the Sox lineup against the Red Sox Thursday after missing two games. Davidson still out Matt Davidson, hit by a pitch from the Jays’ Marcus Stroman Tuesday, was out a second straight day with a bruised right wrist. Davidson still has swelling but said he had better movement in the wrist. He continues to receive treatment. “I got hit pretty good in a sensitive area,’’ Davidson said. “There is just swelling we are getting out of there. And it is moving better as every day goes by. But it still doesn’t feel comfortable.’’ Renteria said Davidson is day-to-day, but it seemed almost certain he would miss at least one more game. Davidson, the team leader in home runs with 22, stood in on pitcher’s bullpen sessions trying to maintain some timing. • Avisail Garcia (sprained right thumb) is on the trip and began hitting off a tee.

Sox’ farm system is No. 1 MLB Pipeline and Baseball America came out with their midseason farm-system rankings and rated the Sox No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. The Sox climbed from third to first on the MLB Pipeline list, compiled by prospects guru Jim Callis, who had the Sox third during the preseason. The Sox have eight of the top 67 on his list: Moncada (1), outfielder Eloy Jimenez (7) right-hander Michael Kopech (12), outfielders Luis Robert (26) and Blake Rutherford (45) and right-handers Reynaldo Lopez (59), Lucas Giolito (60) and Dylan Cease (67). The Sox also would have had the No. 58 player, Fernando Tatis Jr., but they traded him to the Padres in the deal that brought James Shields to the South Side. The top 10 teams: Sox, Braves, Padres, Yankees, Rays, A’s, Phillies, Brewers, Astros, Dodgers. Baseball America rates the Braves first, Sox second and the Phillies third.

White Sox’ top prospect Yoan Moncada cuts the cord with Red Sox White Sox prized prospect Yoan Moncada said things went too fast when Red Sox called him up last season.

By Daryl Van Schouwen / Chicago Sun-Times | Aug. 3, 2017 BOSTON — Yoan Moncada has cut the cord with the franchise that signed him for $31.5 million in 2015 and shelled out another $32 million in overage taxes. Asked Thursday if he follows what the Red Sox are doing, Moncada, through an interpreter, said, ‘‘No, not really.’’ That came from the Fenway Park visitors’ clubhouse, where the centerpiece of the White Sox’ rebuild prepared to play the Red Sox in his first game back after missing two with a knee injury. “My focus has been adjusting to my work,’’ Moncada, 22, said, “and I don’t have time for that.’’ While waiting for Moncada’s numbers to pop — he went 0-for-2 in the White Sox’ 9-5 loss to the Red Sox and is batting an even .100 after 40 at-bats — manager Rick Renteria seems the least bit worried because of the focus Moncada alluded to. “He does some things out there,’’ Renteria said. “[He drew a] couple base on balls. Goes from first to third on a single, ends up scoring [twice], makes a play through the middle on the shortstop side.’’ Moncada also bobbled a similar difficult chance over the middle on an infield single, but “he comes in and says, ‘I took my eye off the ball.’ He knows exactly what he’s doing and what’s going on. He’s as astute a student of himself and what’s going on as I’ve seen. That’s impressive.’’ Appearing relaxed as always, Moncada said it felt good to be back, calling Fenway “a special place,” even though he appeared in only eight games last season after the Red Sox called him up from Class AA Portland, a move he said caught him off guard. “I was playing in the minors, and then I was suddenly in the majors,’’ he said. “It was too fast.’’ The Red Sox sent him back after he struggled, but they weren’t out of surprises. They traded Cy Young candidate Chris Sale for him, Michael Kopech and two other prospects in December. That also caught him off guard, but it’s all good, Moncada insists, even though the Red Sox are contending and looking good for years to come while the White Sox are struggling with an American League-worst 41-65 record. “It was a good opportunity for me,’’ Moncada said. “Now I’m with this team, and I feel that was the best for me, that was the best for my career. I’m just glad it happened.’’ Moncada struggled with the Red Sox last season, going 4-for-19 with 12 strikeouts. He’s working a lot of deep counts and looking relaxed at the plate but not producing a whole lot. He’s 4-for-40 with eight walks. All in all, the numbers aren’t much, but he seems to be doing the right things while his talent continues to carry the day.

“It’s pretty impressive,’’ Renteria said. “He’s working continually to develop approaches at the plate. When he puts the bat on the ball, it makes a little different sound. The ball comes off his bat pretty hot and pretty easy. He’s made some spectacular plays for us that are like eye-opening, jaw-dropping. We know as a young player he still has so much more in the tank. “We’re happy with his at-bats. He’s very calm in the box. He’s a confident young man.’’ The loss was the 20th in the last 24 games for the White Sox. Miguel Gonzalez (5-10), their best pitcher of late with a 2.33 ERA in his previous three starts, recorded only five outs and got shelled for seven runs and seven hits, including home runs by Rafael Devers and Mookie Betts. Nicky Delmonico hit his first career homer, a three-run shot against Rick Porcello (5-14), for the White Sox.

White Sox’ Nicky Delmonico enjoys first career home run Nicky Delmonico went 2-for-4 with a single and three-run homer in the White Sox’ 9-5 loss to the Red Sox By Daryl Van Schouwen / Chicago Sun-Times | Aug. 3, 2017 BOSTON — Nicky Delmonico’s baseball collection is growing. The White Sox rookie collected his first major league souvenir with his first hit Tuesday against the Blue Jays at Guaranteed Rate Field. On Thursday, he homered to right field against the Red Sox at Fenway Park for his first round-tripper. It was his third major league game. “I made solid contact with it, and I don’t know, I went too fast around the bases,” he said. “It didn’t really register that I did it. But it was awesome. It was a great feeling.” Delmonico said his older brother Joey, who was in attendance and waiting for him after the game, will get the ball. He said the last time he was at Fenway was in 2003 for a Red Sox vs. White Sox game, although Nicky would say it was Yankees vs. Red Sox. Whatever. “It was pretty cool to do it here,” Delmonico, who homered and singled against Rick Porcello in a 9-5 loss for the White Sox. “He was here with me watching the game back in 2003 just as fans.” The brothers played high school baseball together. Joey would play ball at Georgia, and their brother Tony was a catcher in the Dodgers organization from 2008-12. Rest assured the entire family, including their father, Rod, a former head coach at Tennessee, are enjoying Nicky’s inauguration into the majors. “I got to see [Joey] before [batting practice] and give him a hug,” Delmonico said. “It was pretty cool to do it tonight, not just at Fenway, but with him watching, too.” Delmonico hit 12 homers and drove in 45 runs at AAA Charlotte before the Sox called him up this week. An infielder by trade, the Sox are grooming him to play the outfield as well. He has played left in all three games after playing 13 there for Charlotte.

North: White Sox taking a hit over traffic issues By Mike North / Daily Herald | Aug. 4, 2017 Throughout my 25-year broadcasting career, certain storylines would crop up almost every year. They are debated endlessly, but are seldom resolved. One of those ongoing stories is the White Sox attendance woes. Last Friday, I went to my first Sox game in a couple years, and it was against the Cleveland Indians at Guaranteed Rate Field. The game began at 7:10 p.m., so my wife and I left our home in Park Ridge about 4:30, yet didn't arrive in our seats until 6:40. As everyone knows, the traffic is a challenge when driving downtown on a Friday night during rush hour.

But should it take two hours to drive 17 miles on an expressway? I went about 10 miles an hour, sometimes coming to complete stops during the drive. I have said in the past that this was a White Sox problem because it affects their fan base and their business a great deal. The White Sox, however, certainly are not the cause of problem. Fortunately, once we got to the stadium, parking and going through the metal detectors were a nonissue. We sat in a wonderful 100-level suite directly behind home plate. It was a perfect night weatherwise and the park really sparkled. While we had a terrific time, several people arrived late and were conflicted by brutal traffic. The city needs to take the blame here. Back in the 1960s, Mayor Richard J. Daley wanted to put in a crosstown expressway because he had the foresight to see traffic problems were on the horizon. But the concept has continually been shelved over the years, and seems a dead issue. I enjoyed the game but the travel time is horrendous and attending a game today has to be considered an "all-day experience." Yes, I could have taken public transportation, but I prefer to drive, probably like most people. I have a suggestion for owner Jerry Reinsdorf and the White Sox. Why not consider some 3 p.m. start times or even a 7:30 start time, especially on a Friday? The later start time would give fans a better chance to get to the game before it starts. I would actually prefer the 3 p.m. because the game would be over early and fans would be on their way and may be home by 7 or 8 p.m. News flash: day baseball isn't a bad thing! Let me remind everyone that the Cubs built a dynasty of fans around day baseball. Why don't the White Sox play more day games in the summer and into September when the weather is beautiful? Like I said, the White Sox should not take the blame, but since the problem isn't going away, they need to make some adjustments. The stadium, the service and their numerous amenities are all A-1, but when it comes to accessibility and travel times, the Sox and the city finish dead last.

Devers has 3-run homer for Red Sox in 9-5 win over White Sox By Doug Alden / Associated Press | Aug. 3, 2017 BOSTON -- Rick Porcello wasn't getting carried away after ending a four-game losing streak with his first win since June. The reigning AL Cy Young winner knew he had plenty of help as Boston tagged Chicago for 15 hits and the Red Sox beat the White Sox 9-5 on Thursday night. "We're swinging the bats well. We've got to continue throwing the ball well. That's the recipe right there," said Porcello, who survived a rough stretch in the second and third and pitched into the sixth. Porcello (5-14) was winless in his last six starts, losing four straight before the Red Sox capitalized on the White Sox's woes with seven runs in the first two innings. He allowed five runs and seven hits and struck out six in 5 1/3 innings. "Obviously my performance wasn't as good as I would want it personally," Porcello said. "At this point I don't really care. We got the win. We started a four-game series with these guys on the right note and that's all that matters." Rafael Devers hit a three-run homer in the first inning for Boston and Mookie Betts added a two-run shot in the second. Andrew Benintendi went 3 for 3, scoring twice and driving in a run as the Red Sox won their third straight. Benintendi reached base all five times he batted, getting hit by a pitch and walking once to go along with two doubles and a single. Nicky Delmonico hit his first career homer, a three-run shot in the third, for the White Sox. Chicago lost its third straight and fell to 3-15 since the All-Star break. The White Sox did manage to turn around the early rout and kept pressure on Porcello.

"Our guys don't quit. They have been this way all season," manager Rick Renteria said. "It's easy to lose sight of the fact most clubs have a tendency to lay down when they get down big early." The Red Sox led 4-0 before Porcello even threw a pitch. The fast start was enough to help Porcello end a skid of going winless in his last six starts won for the first time since the Red Sox beat the Angels on June 23. Benintendi, who sat out the last two games, surged out of an 8-for-54 slump with a ground-rule double to the triangle in center field in the first. Miguel Gonzalez (5-10) hit him with a pitch in the second, followed by a leadoff double in the fourth and an RBI single in the fifth. Benintendi's single to right in the fifth drove in Mitch Moreland, who doubled to lead off the inning and added an RBI double in the sixth to put Boston up 9-5. Boston got to Gonzalez right away with four runs and four hits, including Devers' three-run homer to center. After Chicago got two runs back in the second to cut the lead in half, the Red Sox struck again for three in the third. Betts hit a two-run homer and Hanley Ramirez beat out an infield single, allowing Benintendi to score by sliding around Omar Narvaez's tag at the plate. Delmonico, who singled and scored in the first, belted a shot out to right with two on in the third for his first career homer. "I went too fast running the bases and didn't really register that I did it, but it was awesome," said Delmonico, who made his big-league debut Tuesday and was playing in just his third game. Gonzalez threw 53 pitches without making it out of the second inning. He allowed seven runs, seven hits and hit a batter, before he was replaced by Gregory Infante with two outs in the second. "They capitalized early and hit every single mistake," Gonzalez said. BENITENDI'S BACK Benintendi acknowledged that the time off, two games plus a rainout Wednesday, probably helped him clear his head a little. "I know there's a book on me and I'm trying to figure out what it is. It goes both ways. I've got a scouting report on the pitcher, so it's kind of a game," he said. "It's always going to be changing, so you just have to adjust." STILL ON TOP Boston has won three straight for the first time since winning six in a row from June 29-July 4. Despite a shaky July, the victory Thursday combined with Cleveland's win over the Yankees gave the Red Sox a two-game lead in the AL East. "We haven't been playing as well as we know we're capable of playing. Hopefully our best baseball is in front of us right now," Porcello said. TRAINER'S ROOM: White Sox: 2B Yoan Moncada returned to the lineup after missing two games with a bruised knee. Moncada hurt the knee Monday in a collision with OF Willy Garcia, who has a broken jaw and could miss 4-to-6 weeks after surgery. Red Sox: RHP Joe Kelly (strained left hamstring), on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Pawtucket, could be activated on Saturday, manager John Farrell said. UP NEXT: White Sox: LHP Carlos Rodon (1-4, 5.23 ERA) makes just his seventh start of the season, which he began on the DL with left biceps bursitis. Red Sox: LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (4-3, 4.16) is 1-0 at home this season and the Red Sox are 4-1 in his five starts.

Yoan Moncada: Wasn't ready for quick transition from minors in '16 By Scott Lauber / ESPN.com | Aug. 4, 2017 BOSTON -- When the Boston Red Sox called up Yoan Moncada last September, they hoped he would take over as their every-day third baseman and be a fixture in their lineup for years to come. It didn't happen. "Last year, I wasn't expecting to play in the majors," Moncada said through an interpreter Thursday upon returning to Fenway Park as a member of the Chicago White Sox. "I think I wasn't ready." Moncada, touted as the Red Sox's next big thing after signing out of Cuba for a record $31.5 million, went 4-for-19 with 12 strikeouts, including nine in a row in his final nine at-bats of the season. Rather than making the impact that Boston had intended, he wasn't even included on the postseason roster. In December, the Red Sox traded Moncada in the blockbuster deal that brought ace lefty Chris Sale to Boston. The rebuilding White Sox called up Moncada on July 19 and installed him as their every-day second baseman. And after suffering a bruised knee on a scary collision with teammate Willy Garcia earlier this week, the 22-year-old phenom returned to the lineup Thursday night against the Red Sox and batted cleanup despite having gone only 4-for-38 (.105) with 16 strikeouts through his first 12 games. He went 0-for-4 with a strikeout and was walked twice in the White Sox's 9-5 loss. "I think he's working through continuing to develop approaches at the plate," White Sox manager Rick Renteria said before the game. "When he puts the bat on the ball, it makes a little different sound. The ball comes off his bat pretty hot and pretty easy, actually. We know that as a young man, he still has so much more in the tank, and as he continues to develop as a player, the biggest thing for us, our desire for him, is that he becomes as solid, as complete a player as he possibly can." Growing pains aren't uncommon for young players, even though Moncada's successor as the Red Sox's top prospect is making it look easy in his first week in the big leagues. Rafael Devers, a 20-year-old third baseman and the youngest player in the majors, was 12-for-28 (.429) with two homers entering Thursday night and went deep again in the first inning against White Sox starter Miguel Gonzalez. But Devers is the exception. And the White Sox believe Moncada will develop into the impact player he was projected to be when the Red Sox signed him. Going forward, Renteria sees him as a middle-of-the-order hitter, even though his speed on the bases might leave him suited to hit near the top of the lineup. Regardless, Moncada figures he's better off for having struggled in the big leagues late last season. "It's not that I wasn't ready. It's like it was too fast for me," Moncada said. "I was playing in the minors and then suddenly I was in the majors. That was really fast for me. But probably the things that didn't go well at that time made it a bigger issue." Barring something unexpected, Moncada won't get a chance to face Sale until next season. Sale had been scheduled to face the White Sox in Sunday's series finale, but a rainout Wednesday night pushed back each of the Red Sox's starters by one game. Sale's next start isn't slated until Tuesday night at Tampa Bay.

Yoan Moncada will return for White Sox while Willy Garcia will miss at least a month By ESPN.com news services | Aug. 3, 2017 Rookie second baseman Yoan Moncada will return for the Chicago White Sox on Thursday night in Boston, but outfielder Willy Garcia has been diagnosed with a fractured right jaw and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks, the team announced Thursday. Garcia will undergo a procedure to insert a plate into the jaw after he was injured and concussed during a frightening collision with Moncada against Toronto on Monday. The team said Garcia's fractured jaw was found in a CT scan taken Wednesday. Garcia and Moncada were chasing Darwin Barney's bases-loaded blooper when the second baseman kneed a sliding Garcia in the head. The ball trickled out of Garcia's glove for a three-run double.

Moncada put no pressure on his right leg while he was helped to a cart by Jose Abreu. The team says X-rays on Moncada were negative, and the second baseman missed two games with a bruised knee. Garcia walked off on his own power, but was later placed on the seven-day disabled list because of a concussion he suffered during the frightening collision.