When interleague play takes the White Sox to National League parks next month, pitchers will be asked to hit, and one of them feels pretty good about it.
“I got a hit in my debut (with the Padres), had one of the two hits against Ted Lilly in Yankee Stadium,” Jake Peavy said.
Being in the NL most of his career means Peavy has hit more than other Sox pitchers. He has a .180 career average in 412 at-bats. While he has struck out 119 times, he has 45 sacrifice bunts, 18 walks, 26 RBIs and even two home runs.
“Bunting and being able to handle the bat are pretty serious,” he said. “They pitch around guys to get to you, and getting a run home is something I cherish.”
Sunday starter Edwin Jackson spent part of his career in the NL and has a.147 average with one homer and five RBIs in 68 at-bats.
The Sox’s first series in an NL park is June 17-19 at Arizona.
For the good times: The Sox welcomed back two members of their 2005 championship team, Jon Garland and Juan Uribe, with a video tribute.
“I heard that (Thursday) night, I didn’t believe it,” Garland said. “You’re either well-liked or you did something special or were a part of something special. I like to think I was all of that.”
Uribe, who fielded the final two outs in the 2005 World Series, was also a member of the 2010 champion Giants.
“He hasn’t changed one bit,” Garland said. “Every clubhouse he’s been in missed him. He’s that kind of guy.”
Asked if he thinks about 2005 a lot, Garland said: “It comes up a lot actually. Mostly because guys want to talk about it, want to know about it, what it took us to get there, what the experience was.”
Pena backer: Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was asked about his bullpen and had a surprising answer.
“The key in our bullpen is the starters and (Tony) Pena,” he said. “If Pena does what he’s supposed to do, our bullpen will be very good. It can be (long relief) or for one hitter. That job is very important because those guys have roles, and especially right now because we have six men in the rotation and six men in the bullpen.”
Extra innings: The White Sox sold pitcher Brandon Hynick to the Reds on Friday. He was 1-4 with a 7.85 ERA in seven starts for Triple-A Charlotte. He originally came to the Sox in late 2009 in a trade with the Rockies for pitcher Jose Contreras. … Charlotte’s Dayan Viciedo entered Friday second in the International League in RBIs and fourth in hits, while Jordan Danks was tied for fourth in RBIs and was fifth in slugging percentage.
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