After getting thumped, 8-1, in Tuesday’s series opener, the White Sox will get a shot at redemption and even the series against the Red Sox. Fortunately for the South Siders, Cleveland also lost, allowing Chicago to maintain its one-game lead atop the American League Central despite the lopsided defeat. It was an ugly loss, but the standings did not budge.
The Good Guys will hand the ball to Davis Martin, rolling in at 9-3 with a 3.08 ERA and 1.26 WHIP. The book on Martin is simple — stay away from
the heart of the plate. Opposing hitters have feasted on pitches left in the middle third of the strike zone, batting .356 or better across all three middle-zone locations. By contrast, Martin has been far more effective working the edges, especially at the top corners, where hitters are batting just .188 and .111. Against a Boston lineup that has been swinging the bats well of late, the key will be living on the corners. If Martin can establish the fastball on the edges, keep his secondary pitches below the zone to generate chase, and avoid catching too much of the middle, he’ll give himself a strong chance to navigate the Red Sox lineup and give Chicago a fighting chance.
Boston counters with rookie lefthander Jake Bennett, who made his major league debut in May after arriving in a December 2025 trade with the Nationals. Bennett has been impressive through his first seven starts, going 3-3 with a 3.10 ERA and 0.98 WHIP across 40 2/3 innings. The book on Bennett is do not chase up. He is untouchable up in the zone, where hitters are batting a big fat zero. The damage comes when he misses down or grooves one over the plate. Opponents are hitting over .400 in the middle and .333-plus low. The Sox need to ignore anything up, work the count, and capitalize on mistakes that leak down or catch too much of the plate.
If the Sox want to salvage this series, the bats need to wake up. Over the past seven days, Chicago has managed just six home runs while batting .220, ranking 22nd in Major League Baseball with a paltry .660 OPS. Reinforcements are on the horizon, with Munetaka Murakami starting his rehab in Charlotte, but he will not be back before the weekend. Until then, the South Siders have to scrape together enough runs to give Martin a chance.
Here’s how Will Venable sends them out to tackle Bennett.
And for the Red Sox.
First pitch will be at 6:40 p.m. CT. You can watch the game on CHSN or listen on ESPN Chicago 1000.
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!
