Pregame notes: Draggin’

DETROIT -- Miguel Vargas, 3-for-27 with a double over his last seven games, is getting a day off. Well, half of one. Maybe.

"I think he went an entire month straight of starting every game for us," said Will Venable. "Just want to get him a day and recharge him. It won't be a full day off. It rarely is. He'll be in there at some point, I'm sure. Just wanted to give him a little bit of a blow."

The absence of Vargas and expecting AJ Hinch to try something later in the game to counter the three lefty bats at the top of the lineup is the explanation Venable offered for the future obscure factoid of how many times Chase Meidroth has batted cleanup in his career.

Vargas has appeared in 74 of the Sox' 75 games played this season, and credit to where it's due to South Side Hit Men: if you routinely post the same concern about player workload in the comment section, it will eventually imprint in my head as something to ask the manager about.

"We have an internal system that gives us a little bit of an objective foundation on that," Venable said about how he decides to rest players. "Just like every other piece of information, we use that to help guide us, but then you really have to use your eyes, you have to have a feel for where the players are at. I think Vargas is one of the guys who, one, is in there every single day. And also the way that he plays, he probably deserves more off days than we're giving.

Really it's not a perfect science. You just try and do the best you can to have an understanding of the energy levels, have an understanding of where guys have been at over the last two weeks, or whatever. See what their running volume is. There are a lot of different inputs and I don't think any of the decisions are perfect. Certainly in Vargas' case, you want him in there every single day."

⚙️⚙️⚙️

Kyle Teel is probably coming back on Monday, but the Sox won't announce it until after Sunday's game. No point in having someone they might need to play today thinking about a pending roster move...more than they already are.

Munetaka Murakami is running at 80 percent intensity and doing some light hitting as he ramps up from his hamstring strain.

"Not 100 percent obviously or else he would be playing games," Venable said. "But trending in that direction."

Everson Pereira is improving, per Venable, but still dealing with concussion symptoms and has not begun any baseball activities.

Jordan Hicks was activated off the injured list, and Tyler Davis was optioned. Davis had a pair good outings against the Braves and the Dodgers, and a pair of rough ones on this trip against the Yankees and Tigers.

⚙️⚙️⚙️

Credit where it's due to Laura: if one of the first comments on my article is griping about the the Sox being 24-12 at home and 15-24 on the road, it will imprint in my brain that I should try to find some nerdy way to ask Venable about a topic that frustrates him.

"We are looking at everything," Venable said. "That’s part of what we do on a daily basis; is what is it we can do better to support this group today. That includes when we are at home. There’s not been a thing we’ve been able to put our finger on to explain the difference.

For me, I think that in a 40-plus game sample, a lot of teams are sub .500 on the road and certainly we have a big disparity in our record. I think it speaks to our home advantage and our fans supporting us and the way our players respond to our home fans as much as anything else. We’ll figure it out. They continue to put themselves in good spots and have chances to win. We have to do a little more on the road."

First pitch: White Sox at Tigers

TV: CHSN

Radio: ESPN 1000 AM

Lineups: