Gamethread: White Sox at Orioles

Happy Sunday, and the last day before the traditional halfway mark of the season and the All-Star break. The Chicago White Sox (53-35) will take on the Baltimore (28-60) in Camden Yards today, and they look to complete the series sweep on the road. The White Sox are currently 6-0 this year against the Orioles so far, and a win today will help them make franchise history, as it would be the first time they would sweep a season series of at least seven games.

Let’s take a look at who will be on the bump this afternoon.

Dylan Cease will return to the mound with his 7-4 record, 4.14 ERA, and 1.30 WHIP. He has been solid this year, specifically excelling in producing strikeouts. He has 111 in just 87 innings pitched. In his last outing at the Minnesota Twins, he did not have his best stuff. He went just 5 ¹⁄₃ innings allowing six hits, six runs, and two walks. He also had eight strikeouts. Aside from his fastball, which he uses 46.6% of the time, he also throws a slider (28.6%), curveball (14.9%), and changeup (9.9%).

Spenser Watkins will make the start for the O’s, in just his third appearance of the year. The 28-year-old rookie was recently called up, and just pitched in his first major league start against the Toronto Blue Jays. In that game, he went five innings with just three hits, one earned run, and three walks. His stuff was very impressive against a team like the Blue Jays and their powerful offense. His record sits at 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA and 1.00 WHIP. He relies on his fastball 46.4% of the time, followed by his cutter (36.1%), curveball (16.5%), and his changeup (1%).

All-Star Tim Anderson will lead it off, looking to extend his hit streak, followed by Yoán Moncada at third base and José Abreu in the DH spot. Brian Goodwin will bat cleanup, which seemed to work just fine for him yesterday, as Adam Engel is back in the lineup. Leury García looks to stay hot, while Andrew Vaughn returns to left field. The hometown kid Gavin Sheets will play first base, while Seby Zavala gets the start behind the plate.

One thing to note going into the All-Star break is that this lineup has been doing its job extremely well, despite the injuries the team has had to endure. Quite literally nobody thought these would be our starters going into the halfway mark of the season, but this is the lineup that has produced 53 wins thus far. The depth and perseverance of this team should be appreciated and recognized!

The game is at 12:05 p.m. CT on NBCSCHI. Listen in at ESPN1000. White Sox fans, let’s get the brooms ready and go into the break strong!