Gamethread: Cleveland at White Sox

Happy Sunday, Sox fans!

The Chicago White Sox (61-44) will take on Cleveland (51-50) and try to secure the series with a win this afternoon. After a wild one last night, the team is looking to carry its offensive performance into today, but maybe get its pitching a little more consistent. They currently hold an eight-game lead in the division, and can extend it to nine today with a win. It is an important game to see where each team stands moving forward.

It looks like Billy Hamilton will spend some time on the injured list, as Jimmy Lambert was also called up to get the start today. Eloy Jiménez is not being rushed in his return after injuring his groin last week against the Kansas City Royals. He has been seen doing workouts, sprints, and of course smiling, so it seems to be nothing serious, and his return could be as soon as Tuesday per Tony La Russa.

Finally, let’s take a look at who will be on the mound today for both teams.

Lambert will be getting his third start of the season, as the White Sox starting pitching rotation will be getting a break and an extra couple of days off. Lambert has a 0-1 record, with a 12.60 ERA and 2.80 WHIP. His first outing of the year was actually against Cleveland, where he went 3 ²⁄₃ innings with seven hits and three runs. His last start against the Seattle Mariners was a relatively short one, as he went 1 ¹⁄₃ innings with four hits and four runs before getting pulled. Hopefully in his second time around against Cleveland, he can lock them down and help the White Sox out with a strong effort.

Righty Cal Quantrill will be on the mound for Cleveland, who is 2-2 with a 3.66 ERA and 1.31 WHIP. This will be his 30th appearance this season, Quantrill was moved into the starting rotation after the many injuries suffered to Cleveland’s original starting rotation. He has seem some very solid outings as of recently; his last game against the St. Louis Cardinals was successful as he went six innings with just four hits, one run, and five strikeouts. Quantrill’s sinker is his most-used pitch, at 42% of the time, followed by his slider (25.9%), and changeup (14.5%). He also throws in the occasional fastball and curveball.

Tim Anderson will lead it off, followed by César Hernández. José Abreu will bat, but be the DH for today as Gavin Sheets heads over to first base. Yoán Moncada looks to have a bounce-back game as Adam Engel takes center field. Brian Goodwin and Leury García will cover the outfield corners, and Seby Zavala, after his historic day, will look to provide some even more offense today, because, why not?

Game time is at 1:10 p.m. CT on NBCSCHI, and you can listen in at ESPN 1000.