Gamethread: Dodgers at White Sox

It’s Friday Eve, White Sox fans! The Chicago White Sox (26-28) will take on the Los Angeles Dodgers (36-20), seeking a series win that will redeem themselves from last night’s loss. The South Siders dipped two games below .500 again, still five games behind the Minnesota Twins for the AL Central lead. Needless to say, we have some work to do.

Before we dive into the starting pitching matchup, let’s also take a minute to wish Joe Kelly a very happy birthday! Perhaps he can summon some birthday magic against his former team so the Sox can close out this series — that’s how it works, right?

Dylan Cease is on the bump for the White Sox this afternoon, taking on a stacked Dodgers lineup from top to bottom. The Dodgers have put up just 11 hits in the last two games, so we are hoping for some mustache magic to continue to shut down the Dodgers offense. The key for Dylan this game will be to reduce the amount of batters he walks, as he is averaging 4.63 walks per nine innings, including seven during his previous start against the Rays. Ironically, Cease only gave up one hit and worked his way out of some jams, but when you have that many walks in a game, things can get messy in the blink of an eye — especially with a menacing LA lineup that kicks off with Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Trea Turner, who are all having great years. Dylan will use his four-pitch arsenal, relying mostly on his 4-seam fastball, which he throws 43% of the time. Cease is 4-2 on the year with a solid 3.39 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP, let’s hope he is on today to get that W!

Tyler Anderson is the starting pitcher for the Dodgers today in a matchup that seems like it could be a pitchers’ duel. Anderson is 7-0 this season with a strong 2.59 ERA, .95 WHIP, and an excellent walk rate, with just six on the year (less than one per nine innings). With a White Sox team that is pretty abysmal when it comes to drawing a walk, this doesn’t make me too excited for the South Side offense today, as they have a 6.1% walk rate as a team — not great, Bob! Anderson utilizes his 4-seam fastball often; however, he also relies heavily on his cutter and changeup 25% and 31% of the time, respectively. The White Sox will continue to look to be delivered by Jake Burger and José Abreu, who have been leading the offense over the last 10 games.

Let’s check out today’s starting lineups, and surprisingly, the White Sox trot a respectable batting order — that is the true miracle here.

A lineup that doesn’t have Leury García leading off? Sold!!

This lineup is pretty dangerous top to bottom, and a sharp Cease will be key to the team’s success today.

Game time is at 1:10 p.m. CT. Tune into NBCSCHI with Jason and Steve to watch, or ESPN 1000 to listen in. Let’s go Sox!