Gamethread: Guardians at White Sox

It is now or never for the White Sox (76-71), who will host the Guardians (80-67) for a three-game series.

Dylan Cease, who is among the serious contenders for some prestigious pitching award, will start for the White Sox. Cease enters with a 2.16 ERA, a 2.57 xERA, and a 2.86 FIP, rendering him a 4.4-fWAR pitcher in 167 innings. This will be Cease’s fourth start against the Guardians this season. In the first three, Cease had a 2.12 ERA in 17 innings, and the White Sox went 2-1 in those games.

Aaron Civale, a right-handed pitcher, will start for Cleveland. Civale, 27, enters with a 5.40 ERA, a 4.30 xERA, and a 3.92 FIP, rendering him a 1.0-fWAR pitcher in 75 innings. While Civale’s ERA is quite high, luck has not been on his side. This will be Civale’s second game against the White Sox this season. In the first matchup, Civale pitched one scoreless inning before being removed due to a wrist injury. The South Siders won that game by a score of 2-1.

Here are tonight’s starting lineups:

The game is scheduled to begin at 7:10 p.m. Central. As usual, NBC Sports Chicago will televise the game, and WMVP 1000 AM will have the radio coverage. The pressure is on. Can the White Sox make an enormous comeback after the Twins (73-74) failed to help them out? We will see.