Xander Bogaerts bolsters his shortstop's defense – San Diego Union-Tribune

With Ha-Seong Kim in the early stages of restarting a litter program, Xander Bogaerts continues to look like he will be the Padres' shortstop in the postseason. He will start on the left side of the field for the 10th consecutive game on Saturday and appears to be settling in further.

The last two games weren't that great.

His fielding error in the ninth inning on Wednesday cost Dylan Cease the chance for a complete game. On Friday, Bogaerts botched a two-out bouncer in the first inning, which led to Joe Musgrove has to make a little more effort to get out of the frame unscathed.

Better now than in two weeks, said Bogaerts.

“I knew I probably would have messed up a few balls going back to shortstop, but that's pretty normal,” Bogaerts said before the first pitch at 5:40 p.m. Saturday. “People go back and mess up. So I'm very aware of that, but hopefully I get them all out and be ready for the playoffs.”

Bogaerts said he has worked exclusively at the shortstop position in pregame drills since moving from second base on Sept. 10. The team had originally asked Bogaerts to move from shortstop to second base in spring training to accommodate Kim.

Kim suffered a shoulder injury on August 18, but Bogaerts only returned to the shortstop position when it became clear that Kim was not recovering as quickly as hoped.

Kim threw from about 75 feet away on Friday and Saturday, but did not throw across the field either day. However, he did run the bases, catch grounders at shortstop and hit in the field.

In other words, it does not look like Kim's return is imminent.

This makes it all the more important for Bogaerts to iron out the defensive errors that, in his opinion, arise from switching back and forth between the two positions.

“I just picked up a few bad habits that serve me well at second base,” Bogaerts said. “Now I'm trying to do what I used to do as a shortstop, and it's a little complicated. I talked to our defenseman yesterday and I know what my body wants to do, but that's probably not the best thing for me. There's just a little difference between how I feel at second base and at shortstop.”

Bogaerts is the sixth batter in Saturday's lineup, between center fielder MichaelJackson and second baseman Jake Cronenworth.

Queue on the night of September 21st! pic.twitter.com/cTib30fWNJ

– San Diego Padres (@Padres) 21 September 2024

Bogaerts is hitting .261/.305/.375 and has an OPS of .680, which is still well below last year's (.790). His 10 home runs are nine fewer than last year and he's hitting .214/.279/.411 with three home runs in his last 15 games.

Before the game, the White Sox reinstated the right-hander Michael Soroka (shoulder) and proven right-hander Chad Kuhl for assignment.

Here's how Chicago (36-118), just two losses away from the Mets' 1962 record, will line up for Game 2:

Your #WhiteSox Starting line-up ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/pntDOjuGnp

— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) 21 September 2024

The pitching duel on Saturday

White Sox RHP Chris Flexen (2-14, 5.09 ERA)

The 30-year-old has a 3.14 ERA and 19 strikeouts with five walks in three starts (14⅓ IP) so far in September. But he has a 6.60 ERA on the road so far and allows an .845 OPS against lefties. Flexen has an 8.78 ERA in 13⅓ career innings against the Padres, including two runs in two innings in relief last year with the Mariners.

Here’s how Flexen fared against the current Padres:

Padres LHP Martín Pérez (4-5, 4.36 ERA)

He has allowed one run in his last 11⅓ innings, and the Padres have won seven of his eight starts since the trade deadline (2.72 ERA, 43 IP). Pérez has also allowed at least one home run in seven of eight starts for the Padres. Pérez had a 5.50 ERA in nine career starts against the White Sox, including a win in one start last year (7 IP, 2 ER) when he was with the Rangers.

Here’s how Pérez fared against the current White Sox hitters:

• FROM Andrew Benintendi (4 for 14, RBI, BB, 2 Ks)
• INF Nicky Lopez (3 for 11, 2B, BB, 2 Ks)
• INF Yoan Moncada (4 for 10, 2B, HR, RBI, 4 Ks)
• FROM Luis Robert Jr. (4 for 8, 2B, RBI, BB)
• 1B Andrew Vaughn (2 for 9, HR, 2 RBIs, K)