Gamethread: White Sox at Dodgers

Today the White Sox (1-4-3) will take on the Dodgers, who won the 2020 World Series. The defending champions, who are early favorites to pull off a repeat, are 3-3-2 this spring.

Yesterday, the White Sox dropped a 1-0 game in which they only managed four hits in seven innings. Yoán Moncada picked up the only extra-base hit for the South Siders, but the White Sox could not get any clutch hits, finishing 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position. On the bright side, the pitching staff had a great game, only allowing two hits. This was highlighted by three outstanding innings by Lucas Giolito, in which he allowed no hits.

Here are today’s starting lineups:

Nick Madrigal, one of the most intriguing players in baseball, will be making 2021 Cactus League debut. In 2020, Madrigal had an excellent .340 batting average but struggled to draw walks (and, predictably, struggled to get extra-base hits) to increase his value. He also struggled on the basepaths (-4.7 baserunning runs per FanGraphs in only 29 games), which is a development worth keeping an eye on this spring.

Mike Wright, a 31-year-old righthander, will start for the White Sox. Wright has appeared in five MLB seasons (2015-19) and totaled 258 innings, but his resume (6.00 career ERA, 5.22 career FIP) does not inspire confidence.

The first pitch is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. CST at Camelback Ranch. This game will be on MLB Network in the Chicago television market.

The White Sox seem set on not wasting too many wins during spring training. Will that continue? See you at 2:05.