CHICAGO –– With a prime opportunity beat the Cardinals on Thursday, the White Sox came away with a double negative.
In the second game of the doubleheader, Mike Tauchman stood on third base with one out and the game tied 6-6 in the bottom of the ninth inning. Vinny Capra could win the game with a sacrifice fly, a hit, or anything else that would advance Tauchman 90 feet to home plate.
But Capra hit ground ball to third base, which 10-time Gold Glove winner Nolan Arenado fielded and easily nabbed Tauchman at home. Tauchman, in an attempt to score the winning run, pulled up slower than usual with what manager Will Venable revealed postgame as an injury.
“Some right groin soreness,” Venable said. “He’ll be evaluated now and it’ll just be day to day.”
The soreness was enough to remove Tauchman from the game and put catcher Kyle Teel in left field for the 10th inning, which turned out to be the last in an 8-6 loss.
A stint on the injured list for Tauchman, the team’s primary right fielder and frequent leadoff hitter, would be a significant loss for the White Sox. Through 97 at-bats, Tauchman is slashing .258/.365/.464 with four home runs, 14 RBIs, six doubles, 17 walks and 25 strikeouts.
Tauchman, 34, began the season on the injured list with a strained right hamstring, and he played just three games before heading to the injured list for a second time with a right hamstring strain. That caused him to miss about six weeks of action in April and May.
The next update on Tauchman should come prior to Friday’s 6:07 p.m. CT game against the Blue Jays in Toronto.