Gamethread: White Sox at Cubs

I look forward to my last final exam of the year. Besides the fact I don’t have to worry about any other studying I have to do, my dad takes me out later that day for nine holes of golf. It’s a fun, relaxed day. But when we got into our car after our round yesterday, we turned on Ed and DJ, and heard Carson Fulmer facing Ben Zobrist in the bottom of the first. You know how it went after that. We were both just laughing at how embarrassing this year has been for the Sox. They just don’t have a chance in so many of these games with this lineup. Not to mention my mom is a diehard Cubs fan...it’s gonna be a long summer. Not a whole lot of room for error against this Cubs lineup today...

• James Shields gets the start for the White Sox today. I have a lot of respect for Shields — he doesn’t have his old, overpowering stuff, but he’s using cunning and guile to get deeper into games. He’s thrown 12 ²⁄₃ over his last two starts, giving up only four earned runs. He’s a competitor, and no matter how much giving up Fernando Tatis Jr. will hurt in the future, you gotta at least applaud Shields for his post-prime efforts.
• Jon Lester gets the start for the Cubs today. Something’s wrong if Adam Engel takes one full swing off Lester. Well, something’s already wrong with Rick Renteria giving Engel the leadoff role today. However, Lester has adopted a bounce pass throw to first that Engel should easily beat out on a good bunt. Overall, Lester is 2-1 with a 2.82 ERA.
• The 0-5 start marks the White Sox’s longest winless streak to start interleague play.
• Yesterday, the White Sox tied the 1948 team for the worst-ever record at the 35-game mark (9-24). No other season is within three games of 1948 and 2018, so we’re in rarefied air here. And a loss today sets a new mark for worst 36-game start in White Sox history; the 1948 team won its 36th game, to improve to 10-26.

Lineups...