Gamethread: Red Sox at White Sox

When the Boston Red Sox (80-63) last saw Dylan Cease, it took 4 ²⁄₃ innings for him to throw 85 pitches and make an early exit. That was on April 17, and the Chicago White Sox (81-60) were dipping their toes into the 2021 season by sending out a lineup that featured Adam Eaton, Yermín Mercedes, Zack Collins, and Nick Madrigal.

Well, that was then. This is now.

Tonight, the White Sox hold a commanding lead in the American League Central and are coasting their way to a divisional title. Cease has continually improved all season and enters the game with a record of 11-7, 3.87 ERA and is fifth in the league in strikeouts at 197.

Also? Eloy Jiménez is back after taking a brutal liner to his kneecap in Oakland earlier in the week.

The Red Sox have found themselves limping into Chicago due to a Covid-19 outbreak that has forced them to retool their lineup significantly. Running low on healthy starting pitchers, it was announced that rookie righthander Connor Seabold would make his MLB debut tonight on the South Side, where the first batter he will have to face is Luis Robert. (Sorry, kid. No pressure.)

I could have investigated all Seabold’s A-ball stats for you, but instead, I decided to phone it in and instead send a text to my friend Kristen. Kristen is my Red Sox source — she and her husband Bryan live in Rhode Island, and are huge Red Sox fans. Here’s the lowdown on Seabold from Kristen and Bryan:

Here’s how the rest of the Red Sox will be lining up:

First pitch is at 6:10 p.m. You can catch the action locally on NBCSChicago and ESPN 1000.