After a rough series opener against the Orioles on Monday, the White Sox will attempt to bounce back Tuesday and snap a four-game losing streak with Shane Smith on the mound. The Good Guys have scored just five runs in their last five games and have cooled off significantly over the last week or so.
Smith is making his 26th start of the season and has been excellent over his last several games, rebounding from the mid-summer slump that he seemed to be experiencing. In his previous seven games, he is 3-0
with a 2.70 ERA across 40 innings, and his WHIP has been just below one, at around 0.90, so he has also cut down on walks recently.
The Orioles’ offense hasn’t necessarily been something to write home about, ranking 24th in MLB in OPS over the last seven days, though there are still plenty of menaces in the Baltimore lineup. Jackson Holliday is batting leadoff and has posted a .909 OPS with a .480 on-base percentage, with a .721 OPS on the season. Gunnar Henderson is also one to watch, and even though he’s not been AS hot as last year, he’s still slashing .269/.346/.439 on the season.
Here’s how Baltimore is lining ‘em up tonight:
On the other side, the White Sox batters will be facing righthander Dean Kramer, making his 28th start of the season. Kramer has had an alright year with a 4.43 ERA on the season, and unlike Smith, he has struggled in his last seven games, posting a 5.11 ERA in 37 innings. Perhaps it won’t matter too much for him, as the White Sox bats have been dead for at least a week
Kramer will face Chase Meidroth to start the game, who will be playing second while leading off, and has been one of the hottest hitters on the South Side over the last couple of weeks. Chase is slashing .316/.381/.474 with an .855 OPS over the last seven days, though sadly, he hasn’t had much help otherwise as the team ranks 28th in MLB for runs scored in the past week. Colson Montgomery and Kyle Teel have slowed their production down a bit amid this team slump, but with their power and ability to manufacture runs, they still bring a ton of value to the lineup.
Let’s see how the South Siders are lined up today:
First pitch will take place once again at 6:40 p.m. CT at Rate Field, and it sure is a beautiful night to play some baseball — the temperature should be around 75° at game time. You can catch the game on CHSN or tune into the radio broadcast on ESPN Chicago AM 1000. Time to snap the losing streak!
