Now that everyone has had a day to settle, and the adrenaline from the wild swings of the Crosstown Cup’s first leg has mostly subsided, it’s time to get back to thinking about what our expectations should be for this South Side team moving forward. For the first time in however many years, I now enter each day of White Sox baseball with the expectation that they have a solid chance to win. I’m actually not sure if I like it, because it feels like I’m setting myself up for disappointment. It’s hard
not to wait for the slide back to reality that takes them to 15 games below .500, but I suppose that’s just another rung up the long ladder from the bottom of the barrel, right?
It’s a little easier to resist the temptation of optimism when you look at the lineups they’re putting out there. Take tonight’s, for example.
The new trio of fan favorites in Munetaka Murakami, Miguel Vargas, and Colson Montgomery is going to be exciting for the rest of the way. However, I look at how many at-bats at the bottom of the order are still going to hitters performing several standard deviations below what’s acceptable. I think to myself that the string of wins we just saw was nothing short of magical. There will be a time in the near future when Jarred Kelenic is replaced in the lineup by Braden Montgomery, Kyle Teel will return, and Andrew Benintendi’s contract will be cut loose eventually. Until that happens, though, the Sox will continue to live and die with their top four hitters.
The downside to the roller coaster nature of the past few days is that Chicago’s bullpen is pretty shot, and Anthony Kay is going to have to eat some innings tonight. I’d wager the outcome of this ballgame will be disproportionately influenced by how sharp he can be multiple times through the Seattle batting order, because good or bad, he’s probably getting his five frames tonight no matter what.
Here’s the lineup that Seattle manager Dan Wilson will be sending out against Kay this evening.
Bryce Miller is making his second start of the season after missing all of it up to this point with a strained oblique. He gave up two earned runs over 5 1/3 innings in his debut last week, and more importantly, his fastball was humming at 97-98 mph, a huge spike from his 94.8 mph average last season. He’s just one year removed from posting a 2.94 ERA over 31 starts and 180 1/3 innings, which included a dominant seven-inning, two-hit showing against the Good Guys. If he holds that velocity while showing the control that was typical of him before his injury-plagued 2025, it could be a long night for the Sox offense.
First pitch is a late one, of course, scheduled for 8:40 p.m. CT from T-Mobile Park. If you want to join us, broadcasts are available on CHSN (TV) and WMVP AM 1000 (radio), like always!
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