Danny Farquhar loves pitching. He jokes with his White Sox teammates about throwing live batting practice.
Farquhar isn’t there yet, but he will take a significant step June 1 when he throws out the ceremonial first pitch before the Brewers-Sox game.
“I’m very excited to hear that,” Lucas Giolito said. “I’ve been catching first pitches all year and hopefully I’ll have the chance to catch his.”
The 31-year-old right-hander has made a remarkable recovery since collapsing in the Sox dugout April 20 after suffering a brain hemorrhage caused by a ruptured aneurysm. Mere weeks after his life was in danger, Farquhar returned to Guaranteed Rate Field to tell teammates he’s eager to suit up in 2019.
The Sox will salute Farquhar and his family members (wife Lexie and children Madison, Landon and Liam) June 1 and have invited the Rush University Medical Center team that helped care for him.
Chicago White Sox Charities will donate proceeds from all fundraising efforts that evening to the Joe Niekro Foundation, named for the big-league pitcher who died in 2006 as the result of a brain aneurysm.
Welcome back: Charlie Tilson never lost hope, not after he tore his left hamstring chasing a fly ball in his first major-league game in 2016 or when he suffered subsequent injuries to his right foot and ankle.
“I always envisioned this opportunity,” the New Trier graduate said. “My strong suit was not losing hope.”
Tilson, recalled from Triple-A Charlotte to replace the injured Leury Garcia, went hitless in three at-bats Thursday. He struck out on a nasty slider from Dylan Bundy in his final trip.
“The breaks are a little tighter at this level,” Tilson said of Bundy’s pitch. “There’s a reason he’s up here.”
Tilson, joined at the park Thursday by his parents and brother, hopes to show there’s also a reason he’s back in the bigs after a two-year gap.
“Looking up in the stands, it brought back a lot of memories,” Tilson said.
Backup backstop: The Sox claimed catcher Dustin Garneau off waivers from the A’s and optioned him to Charlotte. Garneau, 30, was hitting just .208 at Triple-A Nashville but did throw out 41.7 percent (10 of 24) of attempted base stealers. Right-hander Miguel Gonzalez was transferred to the 60-day disabled list.
tgreenstein@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @TeddyGreenstein
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