The week in Chicago started wonderfully. Two straight wins over the White Sox and suddenly a 5-2 or 6-1 trip through the Windy City did not seem unreasonable. But after dropping the final two games against the Pale Hose and splitting the first two games against the Cubbies, the Yanks now need a Sunday victory to escape Chitown with a winning record for these seven games.
Gerrit Cole is the man tasked with making that happen. The former AL Cy Young Award winner makes his 13th start today in his return
from Tommy John surgery and his most recent was one of his best. Facing the White Sox, Cole threw six innings of shutout ball in New York’s 3-2 win.
Cole has relied on his hard stuff since his return. Between his four-seam fastball (46% of his pitches) and his sinker (5%), he’s making opposing hitters try to hit the heat just over half the time. With the fastball in particular, it is working. Batsmen have managed a paltry .207 batting average against the pitch. Two other keys to Cole’s success: striking guys out and limiting walks. He’s whiffing more than a batter per inning. Meanwhile, his walk percentage sits in the 95th percentile.
Veteran right-hander Colin Rea takes the ball for Chicago. He’s been comfortably on the wrong side of mediocrity so far this season (88+ ERA). Rea allows a ton of baserunners and doesn’t miss many bats. The law of averages seems to suggest that is not a recipe for sustainable success. Rea will keep the Yankees guessing as he throws seven different pitches, headlined by a mid-90s fastball that he throws just under half the time. Watch for the changeup and curveball almost exclusively to lefties while righties will predominantly see the sweeper and sinker.
Against Rea, Trent Grisham and Jasson Domínguez have seen success in a limited sample, each having taken him yard. Paul Goldschmidt has seen Rea the most, with three hits in 10 at-bats against Rea. Speaking of small sample sizes, keep an eye on Spencer Jones. Since July 26th, the towering lefty has been punishing baseballs: three homers and six RBI in seven games, and a gaudy 1.303 OPS. If he’d like to go yard again today, I would support this.
After today, it’s another series with Senior Circuit old-blood royalty as the Yanks face St. Louis. Let’s leave Chicago on a high note.
How to Watch:
Location: Wrigley Field — Chicago, IL
First Pitch: 2:20 pm EDT
TV broadcast: YES / Marquee Sports Network
Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9FM, WADO 1280 / 104.3 The Score, TUDN, WPPN 106.7/TUDN
Online stream: MLB Network (out-of-market-only)
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