TORONTO -- All-Star third baseman Miguel Vargas was back in the White Sox lineup on Saturday after exiting Friday’s 12-4 win over the Blue Jays in the eighth inning.
With Toronto right-hander Shane Bieber on the mound at Rogers Centre, Vargas slotted back in at No. 3 in Chicago’s order and was back in his customary spot at the hot corner. Vargas finished 1-for-4 with a double in the White Sox 1-0 loss.
Vargas was lifted from Friday’s game after being hit in the hand by a 93.3 mph sinker from Toronto reliever CJ Van Eyk and was replaced by Luisangel Acuña, who entered as a pinch-runner -- a move that would have been made regardless, manager Will Venable said Saturday.
“He was fine,” Venable said. “He didn’t come out of the game because of the hit-by-pitch. That was kind of coincidental. We just wanted to get him off his feet because of a long game on the turf, and he was in the All-Star Game. So, it just happened to be [after] he got hit by the pitch, but he’s fine.”
The 26-year-old Vargas initially made his way toward first base after being hit, but Venable opted to give Vargas the rest of the night off with Chicago holding a large lead.
With Vargas on the bench, Acuña took over at shortstop on defense, which pushed Colson Montgomery to third base for the final two innings of the game.
Vargas’s breakout campaign has been a major boost to Chicago’s resurgent season, with the White Sox entering Saturday sitting atop the AL Central at 51-45.
The fifth-year MLB veteran was 1-for-4 with a run scored in Friday’s win before exiting, bringing his slash line to .245/.356/.490 with 21 home runs in 95 games on the season.
He added to his superb year at the Midsummer Classic by going yard for the AL squad in Philadelphia on Tuesday.