The South Siders lost a tough one to start the series Monday, 9-5, and things won’t get any easier today with Gerrit Cole on the mound for New York. Despite going 5-5 over their last 10 games, they still hold a 1 1/2-game lead over the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central, who have also struggled, going 4-6 over their last 10.
Lefthander Anthony Kay is on the mound, starting his 20th game of the season for the Good Guys. Kay is 7-4 with a 4.21 ERA and a 1.373 WHIP in 98 1/3 innings, but he can struggle
with his control, walking and hitting plenty of batters. No, really, the current running joke is who will end the season with more HBP: Sam Antonacci or Kay, and they are currently tied with 19. It would be less funny if Anthony didn’t work himself out of many of the jams that he gets himself into, especially considering his xERA is 5.34. Kay has posted a solid 3.44 ERA over his last four July starts, with seven earned runs, three homers, and nine walks, and opponents are hitting just .197 against him with 15 strikeouts.
The good news for Kay is that the offense seems to have woken up over the last couple of games, and with a righty on the mound, the White Sox will roll with Antonacci jumping back into the leadoff spot. Against righties, Antonacci ranks 10th in on-base percentage (.397) and 14th in batting average in all of baseball. Colson Montgomery is also back to playing shortstop, slotting in at cleanup behind Munetaka Murakami and Miguel Vargas. Vargas has hit just three home runs in July, but he has mashed 10 doubles and is tied for eighth in MLB with 25 on the season.
Chicago White Sox Lineup
For the Yankees, Cole is making his 12th start of the season, and while he has established a 3.92 ERA across 11 games, he owns a 4.73 ERA in his last seven starts. With 66 Ks in his 62 innings, Cole’s 25.5% strikeout rate is still 19th in the AL (min. 60 innings), and he doesn’t tend to walk a lot of batters with a 4.7% walk rate that ranks sixth in all of baseball.
New York is missing plenty of its top hitters due to injuries, but it still has some power at the top of the lineup with Paul Goldschmidt and Ben Rice. Jazz Chisholm Jr. is also one to watch, as he can hit for power while also being a menace on the base paths with 29 stolen bags on the season.
New York Yankees Lineup
First pitch from Rate Field is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. CT with temperatures around 75º at first pitch. Tune into the usual spots for tonight’s matchup: CHSN for the TV broadcast, or ESPN Chicago AM 1000 on the radio. A win against the Yankees and teeing off on Cole would be a great way to bounce back and pump some confidence into the White Sox clubhouse.
Join the conversation!
Sign up for a user account and get:
- Fewer ads
- Create community posts
- Comment on articles, community posts
- Rec comments, community posts
- New, improved notifications system!
