For the first time since 2012, the White Sox are visiting the Bronx in the first half of the season. These series have been a staple of the September schedule the last few years for whatever reason. The Yankees and White Sox kick off a three-game series tonight. This is the only trip the South Siders will make to New York this year.
What Have They Done Lately?
The two best teams in baseball this season both play in Chicago. The Cubs have the game’s best record at 25-8 and the White Sox have the second best record at 23-12. The ChiSox’s +35 run differential is sixth best in MLB. They had an off-day yesterday and did lose two straight to the Rangers before that, but still. They’re really good. The White Sox have won 13 of their last 19 games overall.
Offense & Defense
As you’d expect given their record, the White Sox have a good offense this season, one that has averaged 4.43 runs per game with a team 101 wRC+. They started really slow before picking up the pace the last few weeks. Kinda like the Yankees, I guess. Manager Robin Ventura has one injured position player and he’s not really injured: 3B Todd Frazier (117 wRC+) cut up his lip pretty bad Wednesday falling into the stands to make a catch. He’s listed as day-to-day and I would be shocked if it keeps him out of the lineup tonight.
The ChiSox generally have a set lineup. RF Adam Eaton (122 wRC+) leads off, 1B Jose Abreu (104 wRC+) and Frazier bat third and fourth, and LF Melky Cabrera (122 wRC+) and 2B Brett Lawrie (137 wRC+) back them up as the No. 5 and 6 hitters. SS Jimmy Rollins (87 wRC+) and CF Austin Jackson (72 wRC+) have been sharing time in the No. 2 spot. OF Avisail Garcia (117 wRC+) and UTIL Jerry Sands (74 wRC+) are splitting DH time while C Alex Avila (82 wRC+) and C Dioner Navarro (64 wRC+) split catching duties. That’s the regular lineup. IF Tyler Saladino (41 wRC+) and IF Carlos Sanchez (30 wRC+) are the other bench players.
Last season the White Sox were the worst defensive team in baseball by almost every objective measure. They ranked dead last in UZR (-39.5) and third to last in DRS (-39) among the 30 clubs. The additions of Frazier, Rollins, Lawrie, and Jackson have improved things substantially. Melky still takes funny routes and Lawrie has a tendency to get a little crazy and make mistakes by rushing things, but otherwise the ChiSox have solid or better defenders all around the field. Huge, huge improvement defensively from last season.
Pitching Matchups
Friday (7pm ET): RHP Luis Severino (vs. CWS) vs. LHP Chris Sale (vs. NYY)
There was a time a few weeks ago when folks were talking about the possibility of a Sale trade in the wake of the Drake LaRoche nonsense. That blew over quickly, huh? Sale, who just turned 27, has a 1.79 ERA (2.76 FIP) in seven starts and 50.1 innings this season. He talked about trying to get quicker outs back in Spring Training, and the result is his lowest strikeout rate (24.9%) and second highest ground ball rate (45.2%) as a starter. He still doesn’t walk anyone (5.3%) and he’s tough to take deep (0.54 HR/9). Sale is death on left-handed batters and he chews up righties pretty good too. He averages about 94 mph with his four-seamer and sits a tick below that with his sinker. A sweepy upper-70s slider is Sale’s trademark pitch, but his mid-80s changeup is really good too. Everything plays up because he has that funky delivery as well. Sale is on the very short list of the best pitchers in baseball. He’s a Cy Young candidate year after year because his stuff is phenomenal and he’s as cold and calculated as it gets (GIF via @Nick_Pants):
Saturday (1pm ET): RHP Ivan Nova (vs. CWS) vs. LHP Jose Quintana (vs. NYY)
The one who got away. Quintana, 27, spent the 2010-11 seasons in the Yankees’ minor league system, but the team opted not to add him to the 40-man roster to prevent him from becoming a minor league free agent, so he signed with the White Sox prior to 2012. He ranks tenth among all pitchers in WAR since then. D’oh! Quintana is off to the best start of his career this season, pitching to a 1.38 ERA (2.12 FIP) in seven starts and 45.2 innings. His strikeout (24.0%), walk (5.1%), and homer (0.20 HR/9) numbers are all excellent, though I’m not sure that homer rate is sustainable given his home ballpark and low ground ball rate (40.3%). Quintana is been hard on lefties throughout his career. Righties too, but not as much. He operates with low-90s four-seamers and sinkers, as well as a 90 mph cutter he didn’t have while with the Yankees. Pitching coach Don Cooper is renowned for teaching the cutter and that’s how Quintana picked it up. An upper-70s curve and low-80s changeup are his two secondary pitches. This dude’s tough. The White Sox are 13-1 in the 14 games started by Sale and Quintana this season, by the way.
Sunday (1pm ET): RHP Masahiro Tanaka (vs. CWS) vs. RHP Miguel Gonzalez (vs. NYY)
The Yankees tried to sign Gonzalez to a minor league contract a few weeks back, but he instead opted to join the White Sox because they offered a clearer path to a rotation spot. The ChiSox pulled the plug on John Danks a few days ago, creating a spot for Gonzalez. The 31-year-old former Oriole has allowed six runs on 14 hits and five walks in eleven innings so far this season. He’s struck out ten and made two starts. Gonzalez’s platoon split has traditionally been small because his mid-80s splitter/changeup hybrid is an equalizer against lefties. His fastball has sat in the low-90s early this season, and he also throws upper-80s cutters and upper-70s curves. Gonzalez’s game plan is get ahead in the count so he can go to the split-change. That’s it.
Bullpen Status
The White Sox were able to improve their bullpen over the winter by doing nothing. Two key setup relievers, RHP Matt Albers and RHP Nate Jones, returned from injuries midway through last season and gave the bullpen a nice boost. This year those two have been available since Opening Day. Here is their relief crew:
RHP Matt Albers: 16.1 IP, 12 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 11 K, 2 HR
RHP Scott Carroll: 2.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 0 HR
LHP Zach Duke: 13.2 IP, 12 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 13 K, 0 HR
LHP Dan Jennings: 14.1 IP, 15 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 5 BB, 11 K, 1 HR
RHP Nate Jones: 14.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 14 K, 0 HR
RHP Zach Putnam: 13.1 IP, 10 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 14 K, 1 HR
RHP David Robertson: 14.2 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 6 BB, 17 K, 0 HR
Robertson is the closer — he did throw an inning in Yankee Stadium last year, so if he pitches this series, it won’t be his first appearance in the Bronx as a visitor — and Jones is the primary setup man. Jones throws really, really hard. Albers is in the setup mix too. Duke is manager Robin Ventura’s go-to lefty in the late innings. Putnam and Jennings are the middle men and Carroll is the long man.
The White Sox had an off-day yesterday, so their bullpen is as fresh as it’s going to get. Check out our Bullpen Workload page for the status of Joe Girardi’s bullpen.
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