White Sox Visit Yanks for 3 Game Series
The White Sox are a bad baseball team with nothing to play for. The White Sox head to Yankee Stadium for a three-game series with the Yankees. Ironically, the Yankees’ magic number to clinch a playoff spot is three, so they could do it by sweeping the White Sox. The Yankees have the pitching advantage in all three games against the White Sox, so they should sweep this series and then rest their starters for a probable Wild Card series (though it is not obvious who the Yankees would play in the playoffs). The American League Playoff race is nuts. How many games do you think the Yankees will win against the White Sox?
Preview Of Pitching In Yankees-White Sox Series
The Yankees had a successful road trip and now must take care of business at Yankee Stadium by beating a bad White Sox team. The Yankees, whose playoff magic number is three, need to sweep this series and clinch the playoff spot in this game.
Game 1
Tonight at 7:05 p.m. Luis Gil will start for the Yankees. Gil is fighting for a playoff start, but was not great in his last outing after being practically unhittable. Overall, through nine starts, the reigning AL Rookie of the Year is 4-1 with a 3.33 earned run average. The key for him, as always, is to throw strikes. Shane Smith is opposing him. Smith was the White Sox’s lone All-Star representative. The true rookie, who went undrafted out of Wake Forest, has a respectable 4.06 earned run average and has a 6-8 record on the season. His last time out, Smith allowed a season-high six earned runs on nine hits across 4.1 innings against the Orioles.
Game 2
In game two, Max Fried is sitting on 18 wins and a 2.92 earned run average. He is making his final start of the season. A victory would give him the first 19-win season by a Yankee since Luis Severino accomplished the feat in 2018. After a mid-season rough patch, Fried has gone 5-0 with a 1.60 ERA over his last six starts. His last time out, he shut out the Orioles for seven innings. The White Sox have not named a starting pitcher for the second game. MartÃn Pérez’s season is likely over. It is his spot. Options include Owen White and Jonathan Cannon.
Game 3
The Yankees have yet to make official the starter for Thursday’s game, though it is Will Warren’s turn. It’s been a solid rookie campaign for Warren, who has had his ups and downs. He has stuck in the rotation all season while pitching to a 4.35 earned run average and a mediocre 8-8 record. He leads all rookies in strikeouts with 164. He is being opposed by Davis Martin, who is 7-10 with a 4.03 earned run average. rate. He has performed well this season, though maybe over-performed.
Hitting Preview
Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and the rest of the Yankee sluggers should feast on White Sox pitching in this series. It will be interesting to see if Judge, who has 49 home runs, can hit number 50. Jazz Chisholm Jr. can pile up more numbers. The White Sox have disappointed this season. Mike Tauchman and Andrew Benintendi are their best hitters. They are both former Yankees. They have only scored 3.96 runs per game.
Conclusion
This series should be a sweep for the Yankees. The White Sox are hapless, the Yankees are at home, and the series length, three games, is the same as the number of games the Yankees need to win (or, have their opponents lose) to make the playoffs. The Yankees should be motivated to make the playoffs in this series. Then, they could rest their players once they make the playoffs and important players reach season milestones.
