PITTSBURGH — The White Sox could have used Luis Robert Jr., whose 0.9 wins above replacement through nine games ranked him among the top four players in the majors, in the lineup on the day they lost 1-0 to the Pirates Sunday.
But Robert and his .366/.366/.732 hitting line were given a rest. It was the first day off for the team leader in home runs with four, and on a day game following a night game, it seemed like a good spot for a team that entered leading the American League in average, extra-base hits, total bases and doubles and third in runs per game.
“If you focus on Luis and his day, you realize these days are needed,” manager Pedro Grifol said before the game. “He prepares for a game probably better than anybody I’ve ever seen. He’s talented but his preparation pregame is second to none.”
Grifol also noted the amount of running Robert has done on the bases and in the outfield. He has made several running catches, at least two of the spectacular variety.
The Sox need to keep Robert healthy, and if takes a day off every 10th day, they’ll give them. He was limited to 98 games last season and 68 in 2021.
“His work capacity is really high,” Grifol said. “He’s ready for this. We’re nine games into the season and everybody’s going to feel good at this point. We’re preparing for 162 so at some point he’s going to need one of these and today was a good day.”
Oscar Colas played center field with Romy Gonzalez in right. Robert was available off the bench.
Grandal’s throwing
Stolen bases are up over the league, casting a light on catcher Yasmani Grandal’s throwing, but even more on Sox pitchers needing to be better holding runners, Grifol said.
Grandal, who replaced Seby Zavala behind the plate after pinch hitting and getting called out on strikes in the seventh inning Sunday, has made most of his throws to second from his knees. He has thrown out two of 11.
“He throws good off his knees,” said Grifol, who was a catcher in the minor leagues. “I know his throwing out percentage is not good but we need to do a better job with our times to the plate. It’s not so much throwing out guys, it’s eliminating attempts. If we throw them out, great. I want to get to a point where they’re not even attempting to run on us.
The Pirates stole three bases on Mike Clevinger Saturday.
“We’ve spoken to Clevinger about it,” Grifol said. “It’s not something we’re brushing under the rug. We’re addressing it and working on it.”
Grandal’s strengths through his career are his offense and framing but “he’s doing a really good job behind the plate blocking and throwing,” Grifol said. “We have to be quicker to the plate.”
This and that
The Sox improved to 13-for-13 in stolen base attempts with Romy Gonzalez getting his first. It’s the most consecutive steals to start a season since at least 1920, when caught stealing data was first recorded.
*After designating right-hander Jose Ruiz for assignment Friday, the White Sox were able to work out a trade with the Diamondbacks for cash considerations.
