Chicago gets a shot at .500 tonight as the rookie Noah Schultz takes the hill for the Sox. Kansas City counters with Seth Lugo, a veteran righty who’s seen it all.
Schultz is 2-2 with a 4.68 ERA and a WHIP that’s not exactly sparkling. His last start? A tire fire: seven runs, seven hits, not even four innings before the hook. But the numbers under the hood aren’t all doom. The fastball is real — 95.6 mph and chewing up hitters, with a run value that puts him in the upper crust. Opponents are barely
scraping together a .228 xBA, and he’s living in the 78th percentile for hard-hit rate.
When Schultz actually finds the plate, the stuff pops. He fanned eight Nationals in April and flashed the kind of wipeout arsenal that makes you remember why he’s supposed to be a future ace around here.
But the kid’s wild streak is also no joke, with 16 walks in 25 innings, which is how you end up near the league’s basement for free passes. The Royals aren’t exactly a pushover, either, with Vinnie Pasquantino and Bobby Witt Jr. who can wait you out and punish mistakes. Schultz’s breaking and offspeed stuff has been getting tattooed, too. Tonight’s a gut-check: does he bounce back?
Here’s how the Royals will line up against Schultz.
Lugo, meanwhile, is 1-2 with a 3.21 ERA and a WHIP that’s just as mediocre. He’s still a headache to face, mostly because his breaking ball is pure filth and one of the nastiest in the game by run value. The fastball? Not so much. Lugo barely touches 91, and hitters have feasted on it all year. If the Sox can lay off the junk and jump on a mistake or two, there’s a window here.
So here’s the deal tonight: patience or bust. Lugo doesn’t walk many, and his offspeed stuff will eat you alive if you’re hacking early. If the Sox start chasing, get ready for a night of weak grounders and runners left to rot. But if they make Lugo throw strikes and don’t miss the rare meatball, maybe — just maybe — this team sees .500.
Here’s how skipper Will Venable will run the Good Guys out against Lugo.
The first pitch is set for 6:40 p.m. CST on CHSN, with radio coverage on ESPN 1000.
