Gamethread: Orioles at White Sox (opener)

With last night's game postponed, the Chicago White Sox and Baltimore Orioles face off in a straight doubleheader starting this afternoon.

The opener features Dallas Keuchel, as he faces off against a struggling Matt Harvey. The Dark Knight’s return has been short-lived, as Harvey has lost four straight starts after starting the season showing flashes of his time in a Mets uniform. Keuchel, on the other hand, has been solid but not great for most of the season. His numbers pale compared to his 2020, and to the otherworldly numbers the rest of the starting rotation is putting up, but this should be a favorable matchup against an aggressive Orioles lineup.

Tim Anderson is back for the Sox on offense, and Tony La Russa continues to roll with Yasmani Grandal in the second spot (thank goodness!). Meanwhile, the outfield today will consist of Jake Lamb in RF (batting sixth), Andrew Vaughn in LF (batting seventh), and Leury García in CF (batting eighth). With Nick Madrigal’s hot bat rounding out the lineup, there should be plenty of opportunities for the Sox to knock Harvey out of the game early.

Here’s the full White Sox lineup:

Meanwhile, the Orioles will look for good things to come from the debut of Tyler Nevin, son of former Tigers/Padres/Cubs 3B Phil Nevin. While his profile matches his dad’s, with a good eye and some power, he has struggled to do more than show power this season in Triple-A Norfolk. Of course, there are the usual suspects to watch out for on the Orioles lineup, as Cedric Mullins, Anthony Santander, and Ryan Mountcastle are all dangerous hitters who could give Keuchel problems.

Here is the full Orioles lineup:

Game time starts at 1:10 p.m. on NBC Sports Chicago or MLB.TV. The game is also being broadcast locally on ESPN 1000. Chrystal O’Keefe will provide your Six Pack of Stats postgame.