Farquhar taking walks in ICU
Renteria will miss two days to attend mother’s funeral
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — They took batting practice, shagged balls and went about their business in the clubhouse Thursday wearing black T- shirts with “Pray for 43” across the chest and “For Danny” on the left sleeve. They hung a No. 43 jersey in the visitors’ bullpen at Kauffman Stadium, as they’d done in the home pen at Guaranteed Rate Field.
The White Sox haven’t been able to see or speak with reliever Danny Farquhar since he suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm during a game last Friday. As they opened a seven- game road trip with a 6- 3 victory over the Royals, they kept him by their side the best they could.
“We cannot wait to see him,” winning pitcher Lucas Giolito said. “We’re all playing for him.”
The last time the Sox came to Kauffman Stadium, they went 2- 0 to start this season. The winning pitcher in that second game: Farquhar out of the bullpen after a strong start by Giolito. This time, the support came in the form of five home runs, two of them by Matt Davidson. If only the Sox could face the Royals all the time.
There wasn’t much good news surrounding the Sox when they arrived here. Their home record at 2- 10, at least they know the Royals are bad enough — 5- 18 to the Sox’ 6- 16 — to keep them company at the bottom of the division.
But there was this ray of brightness, shared by manager Rick Ren- teria: Farquhar has taken some “light walks” around the intensive care unit at Rush University Medical Center.
“So he’s progressing positively, and everybody’s very, very thankful for that,” Renteria said. “Obviously, it’s all still guarded and very delicate, but we’re happy to report it’s moving in a positive direction.”
It was nice to hear at an otherwise grim time for the Sox, who only seem to be running out of players. First baseman Jose Abreu, who left Wednesday’s loss to the Mariners mid- game with flulike symptoms, was out of the lineup and clearly still feeling poorly. Outfielder Nicky Delmonico was a late scratch with a stiff neck that started bothering him in his last at- bat Wednesday. The ability to turn one’s head to the right is the sort of thing a guy takes for granted until he can’t do it.
“As a left- handed hitter, it’s kind of a big thing,” Delmonico said.
With right fielder Avisail Garcia nursing a hamstring injury that sent him to the disabled list, the Sox’ starting lineup — featuring Trayce Thompson in right and Daniel Palka as the designated hitter — was like something out of spring training.
And there was truly sad news, too, with word coming that Renteria’s 91- year- old mother, Angela, had died Wednesday. He’ll miss Friday’s game and Saturday’s doubleheader to attend funeral services and be with family in Austin, Texas. Bench coach Joe McEwing will serve as acting manager.
“Our sympathies go out to Ricky and the entire Renteria family,” the Sox said in a tweet.
Renteria declined to discuss the matter before the game, but his emotions were barely beneath the surface afterward.
“I’m thinking about being with my family,” he said. “I don’t want to get into it, but you think about your family. They’re the ones that are giving you the strength right now. And I’m sure she’s watching and having a good time. She’s probably yelling at all the umpires like I’m yelling at the umpires. That’s giving me some peace and solace, for sure.”