


WHITE SOX TAKEAWAYS

Here are four takeaways from the two-game series at Guaranteed Rate Field that the White Sox split with the Cubs.
Lucas Giolito entered his start Saturday with the fourth-best ERA in the American League (2.72). Ivan Nova entered his start Sunday with the third-highest ERA in the majors (5.92).
So, of course, the Cubs forced Giolito to exit early and Nova had one of his best outings of the season.
That’s baseball. And, in particular, that’s the City Series.
Two of Giolito’s three losses have come against the Cubs. The All-Star
“My slider got away from me,” Giolito said. “I didn’t throw any quality sliders that inning. Just got out of sync and I didn’t make a correction at all.”
Nova hadn’t won since May 22 against the Astros.
It was his second strong outing against the Cubs this season.
“I just try to follow the same game plan every time,” the right-hander said. “If I see that they do any type of adjustments, I adjust.”
Jimenez tormented his former organization with a two-run home run in the fourth Sunday.
It was his second homer in four games against the Cubs. The first was a go-ahead two-run homer in the ninth June 18 at Wrigley Field.
The rookie has 16 homers and 38 RBIs at the All-Star break. His focus, he said, is to “keep grinding.”
“Keep swinging at my pitches,” Jimenez said Sunday, “and just keep playing hard.”
The Sox third baseman had two doubles and scored twice Saturday. He singled up the middle in the seventh Sunday to extend his hitting streak to a career-high 13 games, the longest active streak in the majors.
Moncada has 20 hits in 52 at-bats (.385) with four homers and nine RBIs during the streak and reached the All-Star break with a .308 average, 16 homers and 48 RBIs.
“He’s an All-Star-quality player,” Sox manager Rick Renteria said before Sunday’s game. “I pull for these guys every day, but I think he’s shown everybody. If you compare his numbers to many, they’re quite comparable. He’s on pace to have a pretty good season.”
Nineteen of the Sox’s 22 games before the break came against teams contending for a playoff spot. The stretch featured two games against the Nationals, four against the Yankees and Cubs and three against the Rangers, Red Sox and Twins.
The Sox went 9-10 against those teams. They split against the Nationals,
“We’ve been pushing in a positive direction,” Renteria said, “and they should be proud of themselves because they are trusting each other more and doing a lot of things you would want them to do.”
The challenges continue in the first road trip after the All-Star break. Two of the three stops are against playoff contenders: Friday through Sunday against the Athletics and July 19-21 against the Rays.