The Yankees did their job to start the week, sweeping the lowly Washington Nationals to keep pace with the Red Sox in the AL Wild Card race, gain ground on the Blue Jays for the AL East, and gain separation from the teams chasing them, including the Mariners, Royals, and Guardians. The good times don’t have to end yet for the Yanks, as before they embark on a season-defining start to September, they’ll get to visit a team with a worse record than the Nationals, the Chicago White Sox, starting tonight
on the Southside.
Will Warren gets the ball for the Yankees to start this four-game set, as the rookie looks to bounce back after a rough outing last weekend against the Red Sox. Warren has had an up-and-down season, posting a 4.47 ERA (91 ERA+) and 3.78 FIP across 27 starts. He’s been good more often than he’s been bad lately, but the more important aspect has been his ability to take the ball every five days. His 28th start will tie him with Yusei Kikuchi for the most in the majors and will have him lead all rookies in starts by three (Tomoyuki Sugano is second with 25).
This’ll be the second time Warren faces the White Sox in his career, as he allowed two runs in five innings against them last August. The ChiSox have been putrid against righties this season, slashing .230/.305/.361 for an 86 wRC+. Despite this, there’s a couple bats in the White Sox lineup that are swinging the bat well lately, so it won’t be a total walk in the park.
Davis Martin will be on the mound for the White Sox with better surface numbers than Warren, but worse peripherals. For one, while Warren has 146 strikeouts in 131 innings, Martin has just 80 in 112.1 innings. Overall, the 28-year-old has a 3.93 ERA (107 ERA+) and 4.76 FIP in 20 games and 19 starts, with the lowest strikeout rate of any starter with at least 100 innings and an elevated home run rate. He did pitch well against the Yankees last year, allowing just one run in 5.2 innings, also on August 14. So yeah, it’s a rematch, just 379 days later.
The peripherals, as mentioned, aren’t favorable for Martin. He gives up hard contact, doesn’t strike batters out, and struggles to get whiffs. His walk rate is decent, and he has an above-average ground ball rate, but overall, he seems to have gotten favorable luck on the bump. He has a six-pitch mix, but has only had success with two of those pitches. His four-seamer sits at 94, and opponents are only hitting .208 off of it. He gets whiffs with his cutter, but it gets hit hard. He’s used the changeup against both lefties and righties and has gotten good results despite hard contact. He mixes in a sinker and slider to righties and a curveball to lefties.
Trent Grisham leads off again for the Yankees with Ben Rice, catching tonight, behind him. Judge is still DHing with Giancarlo Stanton playing his first road game in the field since September 14, 2023, at Fenway. Anthony Volpe, amidst one of the worst stretches in franchise history, will bat ninth and play shortstop.
Old friend Mike Tauchman will lead off for the White Sox, followed by former Dodgers’ prospect Miguel Vargas. Kyle Teel and Chase Meidroth, key pieces of the Garrett Crochet offseason blockbuster, will bat third and ninth, while another old friend bats fifth in Andrew Benintendi. The Yankees will avoid piping hot rookie Colson Montgomery, who’s already hit 14 home runs in 43 games but is nursing a side injury.
How to Watch:
Location: Rate Field, Chicago, IL
First Pitch: 7:40 p.m. EST
TV broadcast: YES, CHSN
Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 (NYY) | ESPN Chicago WMVP 1000 AM, Sox Espanol (CHW)
Online stream: Gotham Sports App, MLB.tv (out-of-market only)
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