Yesterday’s action in the NL saw the Braves pull even with the reigning champion Dodgers and the Brewers take a comanding 2-0 lead over Manny Machado and the and Padres. Today, we shift back to the AL, with the White Sox and Rays looking to extend their series leads.
From a former Orioles perspective, neither the White Sox nor Guardians have any former O’s in the lineup. Cleveland was the organization that gave us current manager Craig Albernaz, so let that sway your rooting as it may. In the nightcap,
the Rays are a pretty easy root for against the Yankees. As is well documented, Tampa is littered with former O’s like Cedric Mullins, Jorge Mateo, Brian Baker and Tyler Wells—though neither of the position players get the start tonight.
Chicago White Sox at Cleveland Guardians, Game 2, 5pm ET
Probable pitchers: LHP Anthony Kay (10-9, 4.44 ERA) vs. RHP Gavin Williams (14-8, 3.76 ERA)
Where to watch: TBS/HBO Max
The White Sox won Game 1 behind a two-run, left-on-left home run from Munetaka Murakami against Guardians All-Star Parker Messick. Perhaps the win will give Chicago confidence to complete the upset. Perhaps its a sign that the regular season is repeating itself, as the White Sox went 1-2 in Cleveland during both road trips to Progressive Field this year.
The Guardians’ 26-year-old right-hander Gavin Williams will look to lead Cleveland to a tied series between the AL Central rivals. Williams made four starts against the White Sox this year, posting a 3.98 ERA across 20.1 IP while striking out 28—though the Guardians only went 1-3 in those games. Opposing Williams is 31-year-old lefty Anthony Kay. In his first season back in the big leagues after spending two years in Japan, Kay only faced the Guardians once, posting a line of 6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB and 4 Ks in a 9-5 White Sox win.
New York Yankees at Tampa Bay Rays, Game 2, 8pm ET
Probable pitchers: RHP Cam Schlittler (14-6, 1.95 ERA) vs. RHP Freddy Peralta (10-11, 4.42 ERA)
Where to watch: TBS/HBO Max
After almost being not hit by Drew Rasmussen in Game 1, the Yankees will turn to presumptive AL Cy Young winner Cam Schlittler to try to keep their season alive. Schlittler faced the Rays twice in Tropicana Field this season; the first time he delivered one of his “poorer” starts of the season, allowing 3 runs over 5 innings while punching out 8 in a 5-4 Rays win. The next time, at the beginning of July, Schlittler was his usually dominant self—tossing 8 innings of one-run ball with another 8 Ks in a 5-1 Yankees win.
The future Cy Young winner will be opposed by trade deadline acquisition Freddy Peralta. After struggling to a 4.99 ERA across 22 starts with the Mets, Peralta has looked like a different pitcher since heading south to Tampa. In 10 starts for the Rays, the 2x All-Star has a 3.25 ERA with 43 Ks in 55.1 innings. He was even better across the month of September, pitching to a 0.96 ERA over 28 innings last month. Peralta faced the Yankees only once this season, posting a line of 5 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 6 BB and 4 Ks back in May with the Mets. The longtime former Brewer has a 1.69 ERA and .116 average against in the Trop this year.
