Tanner Murray was beaming — and looking remarkably at home — in the White Sox’ clubhouse shortly before making his major-league debut. He started at shortstop and batted seventh.
Murray, 26, arrived from Triple-A Charlotte, replacing outfielder Everson Pereira on the roster. Pereira, who sprained his left ankle Wednesday against the Marlins, went on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to Thursday.
It was a whirlwind 24 hours for Murray, who got the news Saturday. The former walk-on at UC Davis in California has the versatility to play anywhere other than behind the plate. He was tested immediately, cleanly handling George Springer’s leadoff grounder.
‘‘I’m ready for whatever the team needs me to do,’’ said Murray, who was hitting .304 (7-for-23) with two homers, a double, seven RBI and six runs scored in six games at Charlotte. ‘‘If they need me to hand out water, I’ll do that. If they need me to play left field, I can do that, too.
‘‘I called my mom. She started crying, and I teared up, as well.’’
Murray went 0-for-2 in his debut but made a dazzling defensive play to quiet a Jays rally in the third, straying up the middle to snag a bases-loaded grounder by Addison Barger and making a spinning throw to first.
‘‘We know he is a plus defender out there,’’ Venable said. ‘‘That’s one of the reasons he is here. Great day for Tanner.’’
As for Pereira, Venable said he wasn’t responding well to treatment, which made the move to the IL necessary.
Double jeopardy
The Sox had a rare one-two punch of a replay challenge in the second. With one out and runners at first and second, Chase Meidroth hit a potential double-play grounder to second. Derek Hill was called out at second, and Meidroth got rung up at first. The Sox challenged both calls.
Replays showed Hill indeed was out at second, but Meidroth beat the throw to first, so the Sox didn’t lose the challenge. Austin Hays then ended the inning with a grounder to second.
