Gamethread: White Sox at Yankees

Happy Sunday once again, and today the Chicago White Sox take on the New York Yankees in the finale of this three-game set. The White Sox will try and grab a win after back-to-back losses and avoid being swept by the Yankees. The South Siders still have the best record in the American League Central at 26-18, as the Cleveland Baseball Team sits 1.5 games back in second place.

Will the offense get going today? Will someone finally hit a home run? Will we stop grounding into double and triple plays? Will Gleyber Torres finally stop hitting everything? All questions are valid, and hopefully the team can get something going as they go into their homestand tomorrow.

Some good news going into today: Eloy Jiménez posted on his instagram story, “almost time” and people aren’t really sure what he means by that, but you can take the hint that it seems like a positive step in the right direction in his recovery. Adam Engel is finally heading out on his rehab assignment, and that will be a great addition to the outfield as he looks to return to center field.

The other good news is that we won’t be going up against Gerrit Cole today, so let’s take a look at the pitching matchup.

Dallas Keuchel will be on the mound for the 10th time this season, behind a 3-1 record, 4.44 ERA, and 1.22 WHIP in 50 ⅔ innings pitched. He had an average start against the Minnesota Twins in his last outing and picked up the win, going seven innings and allowing seven hits and three earned runs. The defense will likely be active today, as Keuchel’s ground ball rate is relatively high. Plus, it would be great to see the powerful Yankees lineup keep the ball on the ground. Make sure to watch for Keuchel’s sinker, which he throws 39.4% of the time, and his changeup, which he throws 31.1% of the time.

Righty Jameson Taillon will be on the bump for the Bronx Bombers, who has a 1-3 record, a 5.73 ERA, and a 1.22 WHIP. His last few outings have not been the best, and have been short. In his last game against the Texas Rangers, he went 4 ⅓ innings and allowed six hits, four runs, and only recorded three strikeouts. Two games ago against the Tampa Bay Rays, he pitched 4 ⅔ innings and allowed six hits and four earned runs again, but recorded nine strikeouts this time. He throws his 4-seam fastball over half of the time at 51.4%, followed by his slider at 22.9%. He also throws in a curveball behind those pitches 21.2% of the time. Hopefully his high ERA and fastball rate can get the offense to wake up and tee off as they look to get past their one lone run in the series so far.

Let’s take a look at the starting lineups for today:

Tim Anderson will lead it off, while Jake Lamb will be in the second spot and playing right field. José Abreu looks to get back on track again after his missed series against the Minnesota Twins, while Adam Eaton gets the start in left field. Lamb and Eaton switched positions for today because of the metrics at Yankee Stadium, according to Tony La Russa. Billy Hamilton will get the start in center field, while Leury García gets the day off, and Nick Madrigal will close out the lineup.

Game time is at 12:05 p.m. CT on NBCSCHI and you can listen in on ESPN1000. Let’s see what we can get cooking today.