Gamethread: White Sox at Rockies

After splitting a four-game series against the Guardians (48-47), the White Sox (48-48) will face the Rockies (44-53). This will be the first of two games in Denver.

Michael Kopech will start on the mound for the South Siders. Kopech enters this game with a 3.36 ERA, a 3.87 xERA, and a 4.50 FIP in 83 innings. FanGraphs, which uses a FIP-based calculation for pitching value, renders Kopech a 0.8-fWAR pitcher. Kopech has already pitched more MLB innings than he has in any other season during his young career. If Kopech can increase his strikeout rate (8.02 K/9) and/or decrease his walk rate (4.55 BB/9), then his success would be much more sustainable. As for the offense Kopech is facing, many Rockies hitters have major home/road splits. The Rockies are 28-23 at home with 5.9 runs per game and a +23 run differential. By contrast, they are 16-30 on the road with 3.2 runs per game and a -90 run differential.

Germán Márquez, 27, will pitch for the Rockies. Márquez, a right-handed pitcher, enters tonight’s game with a 5.47 ERA, a 4.83 xERA, and a 4.87 FIP, rendering him a 0.6-fWAR pitcher in 103 ²⁄₃ innings. Márquez pitched seven innings and allowed three runs (all earned) during a victory over the White Sox in 2017. With the exception of tonight, that is his only career start against the White Sox.

Here are tonight’s starting lineups:

As usual, NBC Sports Chicago will televise the game, and WMVP 1000 AM will have the radio coverage. The first pitch is scheduled to take place at 7:40 p.m. Central. Can the White Sox go above .500 for the first time since May 25, when they were 22-21? Tune in to find out.