It took over 100 at-bats but Nicky Lopez finally logged his first RBI of the season. He needed 33 games to do so, but the pride of Naperville didn’t let that dampen his spirits after the White Sox extended their win streak to four games.
“That’s comical,” Lopez said when asked about his RBI drought. “It’s good. Obviously, you guys know the first month and a half has been tough for all of us, but we’ve all been through it together and you can see that we’re enjoying it right now and we’re reaping the benefits.”
The drought was snapped in the second inning of Saturday night’s game against the Cleveland Guardians when Lopez ripped a double down the right field line to score Paul DeJong from first base. Lopez ended up on third base on the play due to a fielding error by right fielder Will Brennan and trotted home a batter later after Martin Maldonado singled to extend the lead to 2-0. Those two runs turned out to be all the run support the White Sox would need to hang onto a 3-1 victory in front of an electric crowd of 26,152 at Guaranteed Rate Field.
It was a moment that was a long time coming for Lopez and signals a change of fortunes for a White Sox team that has struggled to find positives this season. During this four-game win streak, the White Sox have gotten good pitching, timely hitting, and some lucky bounces that have finally gone their way.
“Think about it,” White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said. “We went through probably the worst 25 games in White Sox history. And there were games that we very easily could have won at least a handful of those games. That hurt. They were heartbreakers. But these guys never stopped working, never stopped fighting.”
His offensive numbers don’t reflect how productive Lopez has been for the White Sox this season. Most of his contributions have come with the glove. His 2 Outs Above Average rank is in the MLB’s top 86th percentile. His Fielding Value and Baserunning Value are also well above league average. Is he going to be named an All-Star anytime soon? Probably not. But his steady glove and aggressiveness on the basepaths fit the type of baseball that Chris Getz and Pedro Grifol envisioned before the season started.
Lopez is out of the lineup Sunday, after fouling a ball off his chin in the first inning. He managed to stay in the rest of the game and isn’t expected to miss any time moving forward.
“It was one of those like, ‘What just happened?’” Lopez told MLB.com. “I fouled the ball off my chin and then the helmet hit me in the nose, but we’re good. Good thing I have a wife.”
