The third pinch hitter was the charm Tuesday for the Chicago White Sox.<\/p>\n
The Sox entered the eighth inning tied with the Kansas City Royals. They had a string of left-handed hitters due up against left-handed reliever Matt Strahm.<\/p>\n
So began the parade of right-handed pinch hitters. Switch hitter Edgar Quero was first, subbing for Andrew Benintendi. Strahm got Quero to fly out to left field.<\/p>\n
Randal Grichuk was called on next to hit for Jarred Kelenic. Grichuk hit a hard grounder to shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., who made a nice diving stop and throw for the second out.<\/p>\n
Photos: Chicago White Sox beat Kansas City Royals 6-5 in series opener<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n Derek Hill then hit for Tristan Peters \u2014 and Hill made the most of the opportunity, hitting a 1-1 low slider over the left-center-field wall for a home run. That served as the difference as the Sox held on for a 6-5 victory in front of 13,256 at Rate Field.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a blessing,\u201d Hill said. \u201cThat\u2019s kind of my role over here and a lot of guys\u2019 roles over here. They are able to put us in the right spot to succeed, and tonight was one of those nights.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s my job. That\u2019s what I\u2019m here for. So it would be an insult to my teammates and the staff if I wasn\u2019t ready.\u201d<\/p>\n Hill said of manager Will Venable\u2019s late-game maneuvering: \u201cHe always plays chess. I feel like he\u2019s been making incredible moves all year. You see it play out in our favor more often than not. Tip my cap to him as always.\u201d<\/p>\n Venable credited Hill for being prepared for the situation.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s the really tough part of the job,\u201d Venable said. \u201cYou don\u2019t know when these opportunities are going to come, and sometimes there\u2019s a lot of space between opportunities and you\u2019ve just got to stay ready.<\/p>\n \u201cDerek does a great job making sure that he\u2019s prepared, the things he does before the game and then during the game to put himself in a position to take advantage of opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n It was Hill\u2019s second pinch-hit homer this season \u2014 the first came against the San Diego Padres<\/a> on May 3 at Petco Park \u2014 and the third of his career.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve got a really good game plan the training staff and strength coaches have given me to prepare my mind and body to go out and succeed,\u201d Hill said. \u201cI just think of it as next man up. If not me, then the next guy behind me. That\u2019s how we roll over here.<\/p>\n \u201cI was just glad God was able to put me in that spot and help me come through and give all glory to him.\u201d<\/p>\n Hill didn\u2019t just shine the plate. He remained in the game at right field and made a diving catch on a sinking liner by Witt for the first out of the ninth.<\/p>\n He said his mindset on the play was: \u201cDon\u2019t let it get by you. \u2026 That\u2019s an inside-the-parker (if it gets by) because he flies.\u201d<\/p>\n Hill then tracked down Salvador Perez\u2019s fly ball in foul territory to end the game.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t say enough good stuff about Derek,\u201d second baseman Chase Meidroth said. \u201cHe\u2019s the man. Talk to him every day about at-bats. That was unbelievable, what he does. That guy prepares with the best of them every day. He\u2019s one of the most professional guys I\u2019ve ever played with.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a dog. You saw that today in what he can do on the field. As cool as that home run was, I love that diving catch.\u201d<\/p>\n Hill\u2019s home run was one of three for the Sox. Drew Romo hit a solo shot to begin a five-run fifth. Meidroth capped the inning with a three-run homer, giving the Sox a 5-2 lead.<\/p>\n The Royals responded with three in the sixth against reliever Tyler Schweitzer to tie the score. Hill broke the tie in the eighth, and the Sox (20-21)<\/a> went on to collect their third straight victory<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, my God, it\u2019s the most fun I\u2019ve ever had playing baseball,\u201d Hill said of this season with the Sox. \u201cIt\u2019s incredible. Every guy is pulling from the same side, whoever gets called up, traded over here, it doesn\u2019t matter. Everybody is pulling from the same side in this clubhouse.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The third pinch hitter was the charm Tuesday for the Chicago White Sox. 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