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After a stinker of a start against the Cubs last week, Lucas Giolito looks to get himself and the Chicago White Sox back on track. What doomed Giolito on the 19th were the walks, and three untimely home runs for the Sox including a first-inning grand slam. But even with that bad start, he is still rated fifth in the AL for fWAR and sixth in FIP. He has also done decently well against Boston in limited time.
Opposing Red Sox hitters have a slash line of .200/.283/.275. The most successful hitters against him are obvious: Andrew Benintendi (who has the lone home run hit against Giolito) Mookie Betts, and J.D. Martinez (the latter two have three hits off the rising star). However, only those three batters have previously collected hits against Giolito in the Boston lineup.
Eduardo Rodriguez is on the bump for the BoSox and he has had similar success against White Sox batters. Sox hitters have a slash line of .226/.273/.371 against Rodriguez over his career. James McCann has had the most success facing him, with two home runs, while Tim Anderson is 0-for-11 with five strikeouts.
Meanwhile, some welcome news:
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) June 24, 2019
Along with that news, here are some tweets from Scott Merkin that address Dylan Cease, the only other good starter the Sox have in MLB or Triple-A besides Giolito.
Dylan Cease has allowed 16 runs in his last 16.1 IP for Charlotte and I really don't think those numbers matter. Everyone from Rick Hahn, Ken Williams, Chris Getz and Rick Renteria are looking how Cease is getting those results, what he's doing. That is what's important.
— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) June 24, 2019
So just because his numbers show a little recent struggle, it doesn't mean he couldn't or should be called up to the Majors. I'm still guessing, and it's purely a guess, next week's home Detroit series. Have been saying that for a bit.
— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) June 24, 2019
If Cease is not up before the All-Star break, then the path followed by Giolito, Lopez and Kopech before him of late July or early August makes sense.
— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) June 24, 2019
And here is a nugget from James Fegan on newly re-signed (is that how it goes?) Hector Santiago:
Charlotte Knights says Héctor Santiago will start Tuesday’s game for them. That would put him in line with an open slot in the Sox big league rotation, though since they have two open slots now, that doesn’t take a whole lot of coordination
— James Fegan (@JRFegan) June 24, 2019
Last but not least, more information on Jon Jay and news on Dylan Covey:
Dylan Covey will need a rehab start, says Renteria. He here’s in Boston today.
— James Fegan (@JRFegan) June 24, 2019
Renteria said Jon Jay will not play every single day and would probably be in an outfield corner during late-game defensive-minded alignments, but will play some center too.
Lineups:
Tonight's #WhiteSox starters! pic.twitter.com/2AKwG1ZfbR
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) June 24, 2019
#RedSox tonight: Betts RF, Benintendi LF, Martinez DH, Devers 3B, Bogaerts SS, Bradley Jr. CF, Vázquez C, Chavis 1B, Núñez 2B, and Rodriguez LHP
— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) June 24, 2019