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Having won 10 of 12 (and the two losses were with Gaddis and Morris starting) the Guardians head to Chitown for a huge three-game series against the White Sox, who trail the G’s by four games. The Sox are also red hot, having won 13 of their last 18. This is going to be a heck of a series between two smoking hot teams.
The Sox are 76-71 overall but only 35-37 at home. They hit a little better on the road, averaging 4.2 runs per game at home. Their team OPS is .788 against lefties and .688 against righties. We have three right-handed starters going.
The Guardians lead the season series 9-7 and need one win to secure the tiebreaker. Tim Anderson is apparently still out but otherwise the Sox are not missing any key players.
The matchups are Cease v. Civale Tuesday, Lynn v. McKenzie Wednesday, and Cueto v. Bieber Thursday. Pitching should dominate and runs will be tough to come by. The Sox don’t hit as well at home and they don’t hit nearly as well against righties as lefties.
The Sox are one of the worst defensive teams in the majors and that could be a factor if the games are close. Fangraphs ranks the Sox defense 28th and the Guardians 5th.
The Sox have a very good bullpen; they rank 6th in xFIP since the break. The G’s are 2nd.
Elvis Andrus said that as the Sox get closer to first place the Guardians will “crumble”. We’ll see if that happens over the next three nights.
Dylan Cease, 14-7, 2.16 gets tonight’s start. In two August starts against the Guardians Cease pitched 13.2 scoreless innings. He came within one out of a no-hitter three starts ago. He’s about as dominant as they come. Getting a hit or two with RISP will be key.
In three starts against the G’s this year he has allowed 20 hits and 6 walks in 17.1 innings, so we have been able to get on base. But those 26 baserunners accounted for just 4 runs as getting them in was a big issue. Cease has a .177 BAA with RISP.
Civale is 2-6, 5.40, and appears to be no match for Cease. Aaron has not pitched in three weeks after suffering a forearm strain. He was on a roll, having allowed 9 runs in his previous 5 starts. It’s hard to say how effective he can be after taking three weeks off, especially since he depends on pinpoint control. But it’s either him or Hunter Gaddis and we’ve seen how Gaddis worked out.
Our best chance seems to be Bieber against Cueto on Thursday. In Lynn’s last three starts against the G’s he’s allowed 3 runs in 18 innings. But Cueto went 8.2 shutout innings against the G’s last month, so we’re getting their best this series. The Sox have rearranged their rotation to pull out all the stops. They want to sweep and finish this series one game back and owning the tiebreaker.
Josh Naylor is hitting .352/.960 against the Sox this year. Amed is hitting .400/.964, Kwan .328/.842, and Gimenez .278/.773. The Sox have neutralized Jose (.220/.523). That has to change.
The Sox are 76-71 overall but only 35-37 at home. They hit a little better on the road, averaging 4.2 runs per game at home. Their team OPS is .788 against lefties and .688 against righties. We have three right-handed starters going.
The Guardians lead the season series 9-7 and need one win to secure the tiebreaker. Tim Anderson is apparently still out but otherwise the Sox are not missing any key players.
The matchups are Cease v. Civale Tuesday, Lynn v. McKenzie Wednesday, and Cueto v. Bieber Thursday. Pitching should dominate and runs will be tough to come by. The Sox don’t hit as well at home and they don’t hit nearly as well against righties as lefties.
The Sox are one of the worst defensive teams in the majors and that could be a factor if the games are close. Fangraphs ranks the Sox defense 28th and the Guardians 5th.
The Sox have a very good bullpen; they rank 6th in xFIP since the break. The G’s are 2nd.
Elvis Andrus said that as the Sox get closer to first place the Guardians will “crumble”. We’ll see if that happens over the next three nights.
Dylan Cease, 14-7, 2.16 gets tonight’s start. In two August starts against the Guardians Cease pitched 13.2 scoreless innings. He came within one out of a no-hitter three starts ago. He’s about as dominant as they come. Getting a hit or two with RISP will be key.
In three starts against the G’s this year he has allowed 20 hits and 6 walks in 17.1 innings, so we have been able to get on base. But those 26 baserunners accounted for just 4 runs as getting them in was a big issue. Cease has a .177 BAA with RISP.
Civale is 2-6, 5.40, and appears to be no match for Cease. Aaron has not pitched in three weeks after suffering a forearm strain. He was on a roll, having allowed 9 runs in his previous 5 starts. It’s hard to say how effective he can be after taking three weeks off, especially since he depends on pinpoint control. But it’s either him or Hunter Gaddis and we’ve seen how Gaddis worked out.
Our best chance seems to be Bieber against Cueto on Thursday. In Lynn’s last three starts against the G’s he’s allowed 3 runs in 18 innings. But Cueto went 8.2 shutout innings against the G’s last month, so we’re getting their best this series. The Sox have rearranged their rotation to pull out all the stops. They want to sweep and finish this series one game back and owning the tiebreaker.
Josh Naylor is hitting .352/.960 against the Sox this year. Amed is hitting .400/.964, Kwan .328/.842, and Gimenez .278/.773. The Sox have neutralized Jose (.220/.523). That has to change.
