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The White Sox come in for four games in three days riding high off a four-game sweep over the Orioles and winners of 7 of 8. The Sox are 32-20 overall, tied for the second best record in the A.L. So far this season they’re 4-4 against the Indians.
The Sox are another offensive juggernaut like the Blue Jays, who torched the Indians for 20 runs in 21 innings. The Sox are 4th in the A.L. in runs per game at 5.00, just behind the Jays at 5.04. The Sox are first in baseball in OBP at .344. They don’t hit many home runs, ranking 13th in the A.L. with 1.00 home runs per game. They just get on base and score. They’re 6th in slugging percentage so they must hit a lot of doubles.
The Sox are second in the A.L. in team ERA at 3.22 so their pitching is even better than their offense. Their staff leads the A.L. in strikeouts per 9 innings. The Sox make a lot of errors, though, ranking 14th of 15 in that category.
FanGraphs has them 1st in offensive rating at 39.9. The Indians are 26th at -34.5. They’re first in WAR and 11th in defense. Their pitchers are 2nd in FIP and 1st in WAR. Their bullpen leads the A.L. in FIP.
They’re just really good at pitching and at scoring runs the old fashioned way, by getting them on, getting them over, and getting them in. They have a 3.5 game lead over the Tribe and are likely to increase it over the next three days.
On Monday McKenzie goes against Carlos Rodon, 5-2, 1.29. That 1.29 ERA is third best in baseball. Rodon has allowed 0 or 1 run in seven of his eight starts. He’s allowed 3 hits in his last 12 innings. The Indians have a total of three hits off him in 14 innings, and of course he pitched a no-hitter against them. The Indians are hitting .067 off Rodon.
In two starts against the Sox Tristan McKenzie lasted six total innings and has an ERA of 12.00. The Indians appear to have no chance in this one.
The second game Monday looks like a Tribe bullpen day against a White Sox bullpen day. I don’t know if I’ve seen a seven-inning battle of the bullpens before. The listed White Sox starter at ESPN is Jimmy Lambert, a rookie who has pitched two innings this year. MLB.com doesn’t have a starter listed for either team.
Since they’re both having a bullpen day in the same game, what if these two teams got together and agreed that in order to save their bullpens each team was going to have a different position player pitch one inning each? I’d love to see a 38-35 game. Wouldn’t that be a blast?
Tuesday it’s Bieber v. Dylan Cease, 3-1, 2.98. In 10 starts Cease is averaging 5.1 innings and has allowed more than three runs only once, against the Yankees. Bieber has a 1.80 ERA in two starts against the Sox this year.
Wednesday it’s Eli Morgan v. Lance Lynn, 6-1, 1.37. Lynn has allowed three runs in his last five starts but a 4.09 ERA in two starts against the Indians. Morgan probably has no chance against an offense this potent.
I figure the Indians have no chance throwing McKenzie and Morgan against Rodon and Lynn. But they have a chance in the bullpen game and in the Bieber v. Cease game.
If the Indians get swept they’re 7.5 back with no Reyes or Plesac in sight.
The Sox are another offensive juggernaut like the Blue Jays, who torched the Indians for 20 runs in 21 innings. The Sox are 4th in the A.L. in runs per game at 5.00, just behind the Jays at 5.04. The Sox are first in baseball in OBP at .344. They don’t hit many home runs, ranking 13th in the A.L. with 1.00 home runs per game. They just get on base and score. They’re 6th in slugging percentage so they must hit a lot of doubles.
The Sox are second in the A.L. in team ERA at 3.22 so their pitching is even better than their offense. Their staff leads the A.L. in strikeouts per 9 innings. The Sox make a lot of errors, though, ranking 14th of 15 in that category.
FanGraphs has them 1st in offensive rating at 39.9. The Indians are 26th at -34.5. They’re first in WAR and 11th in defense. Their pitchers are 2nd in FIP and 1st in WAR. Their bullpen leads the A.L. in FIP.
They’re just really good at pitching and at scoring runs the old fashioned way, by getting them on, getting them over, and getting them in. They have a 3.5 game lead over the Tribe and are likely to increase it over the next three days.
On Monday McKenzie goes against Carlos Rodon, 5-2, 1.29. That 1.29 ERA is third best in baseball. Rodon has allowed 0 or 1 run in seven of his eight starts. He’s allowed 3 hits in his last 12 innings. The Indians have a total of three hits off him in 14 innings, and of course he pitched a no-hitter against them. The Indians are hitting .067 off Rodon.
In two starts against the Sox Tristan McKenzie lasted six total innings and has an ERA of 12.00. The Indians appear to have no chance in this one.
The second game Monday looks like a Tribe bullpen day against a White Sox bullpen day. I don’t know if I’ve seen a seven-inning battle of the bullpens before. The listed White Sox starter at ESPN is Jimmy Lambert, a rookie who has pitched two innings this year. MLB.com doesn’t have a starter listed for either team.
Since they’re both having a bullpen day in the same game, what if these two teams got together and agreed that in order to save their bullpens each team was going to have a different position player pitch one inning each? I’d love to see a 38-35 game. Wouldn’t that be a blast?
Tuesday it’s Bieber v. Dylan Cease, 3-1, 2.98. In 10 starts Cease is averaging 5.1 innings and has allowed more than three runs only once, against the Yankees. Bieber has a 1.80 ERA in two starts against the Sox this year.
Wednesday it’s Eli Morgan v. Lance Lynn, 6-1, 1.37. Lynn has allowed three runs in his last five starts but a 4.09 ERA in two starts against the Indians. Morgan probably has no chance against an offense this potent.
I figure the Indians have no chance throwing McKenzie and Morgan against Rodon and Lynn. But they have a chance in the bullpen game and in the Bieber v. Cease game.
If the Indians get swept they’re 7.5 back with no Reyes or Plesac in sight.
