Gamethread: White Sox at Orioles

The White Sox (62-60) are in Baltimore for a three-game series against the Orioles (63-58). The South Siders are looking to get back on track, as they have lost four of their last five games following a five-game winning streak.

Dylan Cease, a serious Cy Young candidate, will start for the White Sox. Cease enters with a 2.09 ERA, a 2.69 xERA, and a 2.87 FIP in 133 ²⁄₃ innings this season. As a result, the talented pitcher has accumulated 3.5 fWAR. Cease’s last start was against the star-studded Astros (78-45), and although Cease’s stats (five innings, three earned runs, three walks, and four strikeouts) were unremarkable, the White Sox won that game, 4-3.

Austin Voth, a right-handed pitcher, will start for Baltimore. Voth, 30, has a 4.86 ERA, a 4.04 xERA, and a 3.86 FIP in 66 ²⁄₃ innings. Those numbers render him a 0.8-fWAR pitcher this season. Voth was selected by the Nationals (41-82) in the fifth round of the 2013 draft. Up until this June, when the Orioles selected him off waivers, the Nationals were the only MLB organization Voth played for. This will be Voth’s second career appearance against the White Sox. The South Siders also faced him on June 24, when Voth allowed one run in three innings, and the Orioles won, 4-1.

Here are tonight’s starting lineups:

This afternoon, the White Sox made the following announcement:

After appearing to be in pain following warmup pitches on Monday in Kansas City, Michael Kopech was removed after facing four batters. Those batters all reached base, and the White Sox went on to lose, 6-4. Best wishes to Kopech as he recovers from injury. Despite the unfortunate game on Monday, Kopech is having a solid season, as he has a 3.58 ERA, a 3.77 xERA, and a 4.44 FIP in 110 ²⁄₃ innings (1.1 fWAR).

Tanner Banks will replace Kopech on the roster. Banks, 30, made his MLB debut this season, and he has 42 ²⁄₃ innings under his belt. He has been a reliable arm in the bullpen, as his ERA is only 3.16. The other metrics show that he has been a bit lucky on batted balls (4.39 xERA, 3.84 FIP), but regardless, he has had a successful season. Best of luck to Banks as he rejoins the White Sox.

The first pitch is scheduled to happen at 6:05 p.m. Central. As usual, NBC Sports Chicago and WMVP 1000 AM will cover the game. Let’s start this series off on a high note, shall we?