DETROIT — Eloy Jimenez was back in the White Sox’ lineup after being away for more than three weeks. He had an appendectomy May 6 in Cincinnati.
He returned somewhat sooner than expected but none too soon for the Sox.
‘‘When he’s in rhythm, playing every day and getting his four or five at-bats a day, he’s one of the best hitters in the game,’’ manager Pedro Grifol said. ‘‘He hits for average, he hits for power, he drives guys in, he extends our lineup. There’s not much he can’t do at the plate.’’
‘‘Huge bat in the lineup,’’ right-hander Lucas Giolito said. ‘‘Good to have him back.’’
Jimenez is back in time for a June schedule that stacks up to be much tougher than the one the Sox have faced this month. Coming up are the Yankees, Marlins, Dodgers, Mariners, Rangers, Red Sox and Angels.
In the Sox’ 6-5 loss Sunday to the Tigers, in which they rallied from a 4-1 deficit but lost in 10 innings, Jimenez muscled a broken-bat, two-run double into left field against reliever Jose Cisnero to pull the Sox to 4-3 in the seventh. After Tim Anderson (double, two singles) beat third baseman Zach McKinstry’s throw home on Luis Robert Jr.’s grounder to tie the score, Jimenez slid in headfirst with the go-ahead run on Andrew Vaughn’s short sacrifice fly.
It looked as though Jimenez, who also walked twice, would play a big role in an important victory. Instead, the Sox (22-33) lost for the third time in four games to the Tigers, who tied the score in the ninth. Riley Greene’s triple against Joe Kelly eluded Robert in center, and he scored when Anderson bobbled Javy Baez’s chopper to short and settled for an out at first.
‘‘I thought [Anderson] had a play [at the plate],’’ Grifol said.
After the Sox failed to score in the 10th, the Tigers won it on Eric Haase’s deep sacrifice fly against Reynaldo Lopez. The Sox finished 3-4 on a trip to Cleveland and Detroit and with an 8-5 mark in a stretch of 13 games against the American League Central.
‘‘Tough game,’’ Grifol said.
Jimenez is here to make things easier, and he lived up to his promise to Grifol that he would be back as soon as possible.
‘‘I always have that mentality,’’ said Jimenez, who had longer stints on the injured list with a torn chest muscle in 2021 and a torn hamstring in 2022. ‘‘Every time that I say, ‘This [recovery] is going to happen quick,’ I put the effort and I’m here. You guys can see. In 2021, I came back in four months instead of a full season. Last year, the same in, like, three weeks or a month later. Three weeks later I’m here, so it’s good.’’
Jimenez was in right field, with the Sox seeming not to worry about the defensive risks and instead giving Jimenez his wish. He handled three flies without issue.
‘‘I like to play in the outfield,’’ he said. ‘‘Everybody knows I hate DH.’’
Jimenez has felt more comfortable in right field than he did in left, where he played every season before this.
‘‘He has great hands,’’ said first-base coach Daryl Boston, who works with outfielders. ‘‘He catches what he gets to. As long as he gets a good jump and his routes are efficient, he’ll be fine.’’
‘‘He’s a professional hitter,’’ Grifol said. ‘‘He took his walks and came up big when we needed him to. And really good baserunning.’’
Akil Baddoo’s grand slam in the third put the Sox and starter Dylan Cease in a 4-1 hole. Cease needed 102 pitches to work four innings.
‘‘We can all agree it wasn’t our sharpest baseball,’’ Cease said of the series.
‘‘We’ve won games, but we still have to do a lot of little things right,’’ Kelly said.
