Gamethread: Dodgers at White Sox

Happy Wednesday! The NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers (35-20) are in town against the Chicago White Sox (26-27), who look to get their record back to .500 again, inch one game closer to first place, and extend their winning streak to four games.

A lot has happened already today, so let’s backtrack a bit.

Prior to today’s game, the White Sox claimed Parker Markel off of waivers from the Oakland Athletics. Try and say that name five times fast.

Markel will head to Triple-A Charlotte, where the team will monitor his performance. The 31-year-old relief pitcher typically uses a fastball/slider combination when pitching, and has appeared on the Athletics briefly this season. Although handedness comes into play with call-ups, it would seem that a first reliever promotion to Chicago could be Markel’s to lose.

Last but not least, it’s officially All-Star voting time!

Make sure to vote and send your favorite White Sox players to Hollywood this year — fill out your ballot full of Sox!

Tonight, the White Sox will look to take a big series against the Dodgers with a win. Johnny Cueto will be on the mound for his fifth appearance of the season. Although he is 0-2, his statistics are solid, as he has a 2.92 ERA and 1.26 WHIP. His last outing against a tough Toronto Blue Jays team started out strong, but got away from him a little as the game went on. He went six innings with seven hits, three runs, and five strikeouts. Cueto has six pitches in his arsenal, including a sinker, slider, changeup, cutter, fastball, and curveball. (He’s thrown a curveball once this year, but still!)

The offense will look to score some runs against righty Tony Gonsolin. He has been pretty much lights-out for the Dodgers this year, as he holds a 6-0 record, 1.59 ERA, and 0.88 WHIP. He has been in the Dodgers organization his entire career after getting drafted by them in 2016. Gonsolin’s last game against the New York Mets was impressive, as he went six innings with two hits, no runs, and five strikeouts. He relies on four pitches, his fastball (35%), splitter (28.2%), slider (23.1%), and curveball (13.8). Hitters will want to watch for his splitter, which has been dominant this year.

Leury García will lead it off and play second tonight, followed by Luis Robert and Yoán Moncada. José Abreu will bat fourth, as Yasmani Grandal is back in the lineup and catching. Jake Burger will follow and serve as the DH tonight, as Gavin Sheets and AJ Pollock will fill the corner outfield positions. Danny Mendick will be at shortstop and close out the batting order.

Game time is at 7:10 p.m. CT. Tune into NBCSCHI with Jason and Steve to watch or ESPN 1000 to listen in.