SEATTLE — What a difference an All-Star break makes.
The White Sox offense has transformed from one of the weakest in baseball in the first half of the season into one of the league’s most potent, with an MLB-leading 36 home runs since in the second half. Their .491 slugging percentage since the break is third-best, while their 108 runs scored marks the team’s best second-half start in two decades.
What’s the secret for hitting coach Marcus Thames & Co.? Attacking the fastball.
Sounds simple enough, but it’s an approach that took awhile to set in for the young Sox, whose first-half slugging percentage on fastballs was last in the league at .352, but jumped to a second-half MLB best .555 entering Thursday.
“It’s just a mindset. Guys are throwing so hard nowadays and just as a team as a whole, our fastball performance was down,” Thames said. “Good offenses, they always dominate the fastball. So it’s just making sure that we’re getting ready, standing ready and being committed to our plan.”
It’s worked this half for Luis Robert Jr., who’s hitting .400/.469/.582 with three homers and 11 RBI since July 18, while Lenyn Sosa has jumped out to a .934 OPS and Colson Montgomery‘s is .863 since the break.
And no, it’s not just the torpedo bat that Montgomery started using a couple of weeks ago in Tampa, which he’s used to crush his first eight career home runs.
“He’s just got to keep working and knowing that the opposing team is going to make adjustments,” Thames said.
Meidroth lands on injured list
A week after Chase Meidroth exited a game against the Phillies after being hit in the right hand with a pitch, the Sox placed the rookie infielder on the 10-day injured list Thursday retroactive to Aug. 4.
Meidroth has been out of the lineup since July 31, but made an appearance as a late defensive replacement last weekend against the Angels.
“It’s tough holding the bat right now,” Meidroth said. “We were hoping that it would speed up a little faster.”
Asked Wednesday why the Sox didn’t put Meidroth on the IL sooner rather than play shorthanded for a week, manager Will Venable said “as long as we have progress in our health and are covered roster-wise, we’re able to give Chase a couple days here. That has an expiration date, obviously.”
Venable said he expects Meidroth back in the lineup when he’s eligible to return Aug. 14.
In corresponding moves, the Sox picked up infielder Jacob Amaya’s contract from Triple-A Charlotte and designated reliever Gus Varland for assignment.
Nayled again
The Sox are sick of Josh Naylor.
The former AL Central nemesis and current Mariners first baseman went 4-for-8 with two homers and four RBI during their series in Seattle, an all-too familiar stat line for the 28-year-old who has owned Chicago pitching since his days with the Cleveland Guardians.
Naylor has a .357 career batting average against the Sox with a monster OPS of 1.022 in 54 games against the Sox. His 11 homers and 42 RBI are the most he’s put up against any team in the league.
“If you hang something, he’s ready to go and he doesn’t miss it, man,” Thames said. “It’s just something against us.”
Naylor heads to free agency in the upcoming offseason, when the Sox could be looking for first-base help.