Paul Konerko of Chicago White Sox to miss series against New York Yankees – MLB News
Chicago White Sox enter into a four-game series with the New York Yankees on Monday, August 1 at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago, Illinois but there is bad news for the White Sox as the vital series nears.
The White Sox will be without their star player and first baseman Paul Konerko who was hit on the calf by an Andrew Miller pitch on Sunday, July 31. Paul continued to play but later got stranded and had to be removed with a stretcher.
Their manager, Ozzie Guillen said that he knew instantly that Konerko was hurt but he did not stop him from playing because Konerko usually tolerates small injuries. The pain, however, became too much to confront and thus Konerko had to be removed.
Initial X-rays came out negative and Konerko will not be placed on the disabled list. However, his calf injury might not allow him to feature in any of the four games against the Yankees.
The injury comes as a major concern because Paul’s record against the Yankees has been phenomenal. He has a career batting average of .315 and has amassed 20 home-runs and 60 RBIs against the currently third-placed Yankees. The White Sox have resurged after
the All-Star break and it would have been a perfect series for them to further boost their campaign.
White Sox have won eight out of their 14 post All-Star games and have not lost more than two consecutive games. They won their series against American League Central leaders Detroit Tigers 2-1 and this is no small accomplishment. Chicago is now just 1.5
games shy of Cleveland Indians and 4 games behind the Tigers and a positive outcome from the series would do a great deal in reducing the gap further.
In the Majors, the White Sox are placed 19th and still need a lot of persistent hard work to climb up the rankings. Paul Konerko’s absence may halt their consistency and they would need an urgent solution to this problem.
This season, Konerko has been a sensation at the plate. He has connected 113 times already for 50 runs, half of which have come as home-runs. He has 76 RBIs to his credentials at the plate thus far. He has an average of .305 which is among the best in the
White Sox bullpen.
New York Yankees will be relieved by this injury. They have been going strong this season and have made a good backup for injuries on their part. Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter would also not be a part of this series but Eduardo Nunez has been decent in
replacing both, although they will be looking for another player to join Nunez now. The Yankees are 3.5 games behind Phillies and it would be a good opportunity for them to reduce the deficit.
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