Gamethread: Yankees at White Sox

After splitting a two-game set with the Washington Nationals and a Wednesday off, the Chicago White Sox plow ahead into four games with the New York Yankees.

The Yanks, at 41-25 ... are good. But remember, the Sox took two out of three games earlier this year at Yankee Stadium.

I’m happy to be making my SSS debut on this Free T-Shirt Thursday, where we hopefully see the South Siders … tee off … on Yankees lefty J.A. Happ.

Now that you’re finished groaning at the first of many bad puns I will make in my sportswriting career, let’s take a closer look at Happ: The last time the White Sox faced Happ was April 12, where he gave up six earned runs off nine hits in four innings. This season overall, he’s 6-3 with a 4.48 ERA.

The 2018 All-Star is a known fly ball pitcher, so we may see the Pale Hose launch a few longballs tonight; he’s given up 16 home runs this season, tied for the fourth-most in the major leagues. One of those dingers belongs to tonight’s DH Yonder Alonso, who comes into today batting .667 lifetime against Happ.

On the bump for the Good Guys is Iván Nova, who is 3-5 on the year with a 6.28 ERA. Nova, at 97 hits allowed so far, leads the American League in this not-so-fantastic stat. On the bright side, in an appearance against the Yanks earlier this year, he limited his former squad to only one earned run, off of four hits.

Now on to the phenomenon I colloquially refer to as Renteria’s Lineup:

Yoán Moncada is absent from tonight’s lineup, after leaving Monday’s game with upper back tightness. He told Daryl Van Schouwen today he was aiming for a weekend return. Prior to his injury , Moncada was on an 11-game hit streak.

On a brighter note, it’s James McCann’s birthday! The birthday boy, who comes into today at .329/.376/.487 for the year is batting in the cleanup spot. Tim Anderson is in the two-spot tonight; he’s .538/.538/.923 lifetime vs. Happ.

As for That One New York Team, here’s Aaron Boone’s lineup:

Let’s make it Happ-en.

The game, which starts at 7:10 CST, will be televised on NBCSCH, and can be found on the radio at WGN 720.