White Sox fans were not happy with Luis Robert following Saturday’s loss against the Rays. Chicago’s star outfielder was removed from the game ahead of the top of the third inning, though it wasn’t due to an injury.
During Robert’s at-bat in the first inning, the 25-year-old hit a soft groundball back toward the mound. Rather than hustle out what could have been an infield single, Robert jogged to first base, which enabled a weak throw from Tampa Bay’s Calvin Faucher to beat him to the bag.
Robert was booed by fans at Guaranteed Rate Field, and manager Pedro Grifol removed him from the game ahead of his next at-bat, replacing him with Oscar Colas.
Via Ryan McGuffey of NBCS Chicago, Grifol confirmed after the game that Robert had been benched due to his lack of effort on that play, describing the incident as a “mental lapse.”
Robert himself claimed that he was playing “conservatively” after hustling hard on Friday night, and indicated that previously undisclosed hamstring tightness was the cause of his lack of hustle.
Lance Lynn was tossing a hitless gem up until the seventh inning when the wheels came off. Chicago surrendered 10 runs in the seventh, flipping the game on its head. The White Sox, now losers of 10 in a row, are now tied with the Royals for the worst record in the AL Central (7–21), and only the Athletics (5–23) own a worse record across all of MLB.
Robert has struggled alongside the team, too. He’s slashing just .213/.248/.407 with five home runs and 13 RBI, and has struck out 33 times in 27 games.
