Pregame notes: End of a miraculous May

We could normally wax romantic about the significant of the White Sox trying to polish off a 6-1 homestand entirely against divisional opponents, but there are too many moving parts to address.

Jacob Gonzalez is making his major league debut. Drafted as a shortstop, now he's breaking into the majors as a bat-first first baseman. Perhaps all first baseman are bat-first, but he practiced the position in spring in addition to his limited time there at Triple-A Charlotte.

"I’ll play anywhere," Gonzalez said. "I grew up playing everywhere and ready to help this team win some games."

He and Sam Antonacci were hitting together pregame, or as the latter termed it, "I gotta go hit with Gonz."

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Tyler Gilbert had been called up at the start of this series, replacing Jordan Leasure as he went on the 60-day injured list with a flexor strain. But now Gilbert has been placed on the family medical emergency list, and Chris Murphy has been recalled, maintaining the team's four lefties in the bullpen setup. Murphy has a 3.68 ERA in 14 2/3 innings in Charlotte, with 15 strikeouts and nine walks.

The family medical emergency list necessitates a stay between three and seven days.

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Peyton Pallette is back in the fold.

After being selected away from the White Sox in the Rule 5 draft in December, Pallette posted a 5.23 ERA in 20 2/3 innings out of the Guardians bullpen, marred by 16 walks. He was designated for assignment a week ago--just two days after being activated from the paternity list--and has now cleared waivers and been offered back to the Sox.

He's been assigned to Triple-A Charlotte.

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The Tigers clearly don't want to get swept. Three weeks after hitting the injured list with a left shoulder sprain, Kerry Carpenter was sent on a rehab assignment just on Friday. After only two at-bats on Saturday, the Tigers pulled him from the game and flew him out to Chicago to be in the lineup against Sean Burke.

Carpenter obviously crushes righties (.274/.328/.532 for his career), but is only 1-for-4 with a walk lifetime against Burke.

Burke is coming off one of his better outings of the year in a duel against Joe Ryan earlier this week, striking out eight over seven innings of two-run ball.

"Sean’s been great and I think the biggest thing that stands out is the people that saw him last year, they talk about that consistency," said pitching coach Zach Bove. "Looking at him from afar last year it was like, 'Man this guy has stuff to work with, but maybe never hit that consistency.' I think he’s showed that if he has a bad outing he can make the adjustment, move on. But he’s been a horse for us and it’s good to see, because he has the ability."

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Noah Schultz threw his first full bullpen on Sunday, after a "touch and feel" throwing session a few days ago. There's another bullpen on his rehab schedule before a return to action becomes a real consideration, but Bove also considers this an opportunity to work on some issues that presented themselves during Schultz's early struggles.

"We have this sample size at the major league level of things that work and things that haven’t," Bove said. "We are actively working on some things that we feel are going to help him once he returns to games. It’s a usage thing, No. 1. Specific to right-handed hitters, make sure we are throwing the right pitches to those guys. Working on a couple of the shapes, the slider a little bit, adding a little depth to it. Those are the two big focuses for him."

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The White Sox are 17-10 in May, which is their most wins in a month since May of 2021 (19-10).

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Six weeks after collapsing and requiring hospitalization, Gerald Chaney returned to Rate Field on Sunday and sang the national anthem.

First pitch: White Sox vs. Tigers

TV: CHSN

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