Advertisement

Chicago White Sox expect Lance Lynn to miss only 1 start after placing the pitcher on the 10-day injured list

lamond pope, chicago tribune
·2 min read

Lance Lynn has been one of the more dependable starters this season for the Chicago White Sox.

But the right-hander will miss time after being placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained right trapezius, the team announced between games of Sunday’s doubleheader against the Boston Red Sox. The move is retroactive to Saturday.

“We really believe that he’ll miss one start, Wednesday,” manager Tony La Russa said after the White Sox completed the doubleheader sweep. “If the thing rolls around with a couple off days (Thursday and April 26), he should be able to take the ball on the 27th, 28th (against the Detroit Tigers), something like that.

“This thing with his neck they can work on and get 100% clear. If this was August or September, he would have taken the ball.”

Lynn, 33, leads the Sox in innings pitched (19⅔) and strikeouts (27). He is 1-1 with an 0.92 ERA and 0.92 WHIP in three starts during his first season with the Sox, who acquired him in a December trade with the Texas Rangers.

Lynn has struck out 10-plus batters with no walks in back-to-back starts, the first Sox pitcher to accomplish the feat. He did not allow an earned run in his first 18⅔ innings, the longest streak to begin a season by a Sox starter since Wilbur Wood went 21 innings in 1976, according to Elias.

Lynn went the distance in the April 8 home opener, tossing a five-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts and no walks in the 6-0 victory against the Kansas City Royals.

He allowed two runs on five hits with 10 strikeouts and no walks in six innings Thursday in a 4-2 loss to the Cleveland Indians at Guaranteed Rate Field. He began feeling discomfort during that outing.

The Sox are weighing their options for Wednesday’s start in Cleveland. La Russa said it will not be Michael Kopech, who started Game 2 on Sunday. His next likely appearance will be during the next homestand.

“It has to be either a bullpen game, depending on what happens the next three days, or it could be we bring somebody up from the alternate site to start the game, which would be fun,” La Russa said.

The Sox recalled pitcher Jonathan Stiever from the Schaumburg training facility to serve as the 27th man Saturday. He did not appear and returned to Schaumburg after the game. Another possibility in Schaumburg could be Reynaldo López.

The Sox recalled reliever Zack Burdi from Schaumburg as Sunday’s corresponding move to Lynn going on the IL. Burdi, 26, was on the active roster Wednesday and Thursday but did not pitch before being optioned to Schaumburg on Friday.