Gamethread: White Sox at Tigers

Happy Sunday! Today, the Chicago White Sox will finish off a three-game set against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park, and try to walk away with a series sweep. The White Sox are currently sitting at 40-24. They also have sole possession of first place in the American League Central and a four-and-a-half game lead on Cleveland. The White Sox lead all of baseball with a +103 run differential, and their starting rotation ranks second in baseball with a 2.99 ERA overall.

Speaking of pitching, let’s take a look at our starting pitchers for today.

Carlos Rodón is on the mound today, as he comes off from a great start against the powerful Toronto Blue Jays. In that start, he went five innings with six hits, one earned run, and eight strikeouts. He holds a 5-2 record in 10 games, with a 1.96 ERA and 0.89 WHIP. Behind Rodón’s fastball, which he throws 57% of the time, his slider has been amazing this year and racked up a lot of strikeouts (thrown 25%). One thing that Rodón’s starts have lacked in a large amount of run support, so if he can get a game where the offense is rolling, it should be a lot more comfortable to pitch in.

The Tigers will be throwing a bullpen game today, which is quite ironic considering their starting pitcher yesterday only went 1 ²⁄₃ innings. Kyle Funkhouser will start on the mound, who has a 2.70 ERA and 1.02 WHIP. His statistics are great, but his outings have been short. In his last appearance against the Seattle Mariners, he went one inning, with one hit and one strikeout. Yesterday, the Tigers used relievers Daniel Norris, Beau Burrows, Alex Lange, Jason Foley, and position players Jake Rogers and Harold Castro. It will be interesting to see how the White Sox offense can respond to this game and the pitchers being used, and hopefully rack up some runs early for Rodón.

Tim Anderson will get an off-day today, so Leury García leads off and plays second base. Brian Goodwin will be in the 2-spot again, after an amazing debut yesterday. Yoán Moncada is back in the lineup today, and José Abreu will be in the DH spot. Yasmani Grandal, our versatile catcher, will play first base as Adam Eaton and Adam Engel share the outfield. Zack Collins will catch for Rodón, as Danny Mendick gets the start at shortstop looking to continue a great series.

Game time is at 12:10 p.m. CT on NBCSCHI. Listen in to the action on ESPN100. Ashley Sanders teams with me on coverage to get your your Six Pack postgame. Let’s get the brooms ready yet again!