Gamethread: Guardians at White Sox

Let’s get the good news out of the way first: Garrett Crochet is finally back with the big league ball club!

Coming off of Tommy John last year, Crochet is a huge boost for a struggling bullpen that currently holds a collective 5.97 ERA.

Speaking of room for improvement, Lance Lynn takes the bump tonight (1-5, 7.51 ERA), hoping to turn things around on a dreadful start to the year. He faces off against Cleveland Guardians ace Shane Beiber (3-1, 2.61 ERA). Beiber has historically been a tough opponent for the White Sox, so there will be added pressure for Lynn to keep the Sox in the ballgame.

On offense, the Guardians made a last-minute roster move, placing José Ramírez on the Bereavement List, which is a massive blow for a team struggling with scoring and power this year. The only other guy in the lineup with an OPS+ better than 100 is Steven Kwan, so this lineup hasn’t yet found the power you’d expect based on the names on the scorecard.

Meanwhile, the White Sox lineup strangely continues with Jake Burger hitting eighth tonight, while Luis Robert Jr., Yoán Moncada, and Andrew Vaughn take the 3-4-5 spots.

With any luck, we won’t have to talk about pitch clocks, or hating it here, once recap time comes.

Game time is at 7:10 p.m. CT on NBC Sports Chicago. Listen in at ESPN 1000.