Gamethread: Marlins at White Sox

Happy Sunday! Today, the Chicago White Sox will play the finale of this series against the Miami Marlins as they look to get a series win and bounce back after a rough finish yesterday. Also, scoring some runs wouldn’t be too bad, either.

And here’s why it’s not really a happy Sunday:

Unfortunately, we were hit with some bad news before the game today, as Liam Hendriks was placed on the IL due to elbow inflammation. Hopefully it is not serious and he can be back out there after this stint, as his last three outings have been a win, save, and another win. The White Sox are hopeful that, like a year ago, Hendriks will be out only for the minimum 15 days. For now, next man up Tanner Banks will serve as another lefty bullpen arm.

Now, let’s take a look at the starters this afternoon. Lefty Braxton Garrett will get the start for the Marlins, who has a 2-2 record, 4.47 ERA. and 1.30 WHIP. He was drafted with the seventh overall pick in 2016 by the Marlins and since then has been up and down from Triple-A and dealt with a fair share of injuries. His last outing was against the Kansas City Royals, where he went five innings with six hits, four runs, and six strikeouts. Garrett has six pitches, with his slider being used the most at 29%. This has been his make-or-break pitch and if it’s on, he can run up some Ks. He follows with a sinker (28.1%), cutter (16.1%), curveball (9.6%), changeup (9.3%), and fastball (8%).

Lucas Giolito will be on the mound after throwing a no-hitter in his last outing!

OK fine, it wasn’t technically a no-hitter, but he did allow zero hits in his six innings of work after getting pulled due to having a high pitch count. I was there to witness the performance, and he was absolutely dominant. Gio has a 5-4 record, 3.75 ERA, and 1.20 WHIP, and while he has had an up-and-down year so far, when he is avoiding walks and getting strikeouts he puts himself in line for a nine-figure payday after the season. Hopefully Giolito can feed off of his last outing, and shut the Marlins down today.

Happy Birthday to Southpaw, and for his special day he will have Clint Frazier leading it off and playing right, followed by Yoán Moncada at third and Luis Robert Jr. in center field. Andrew Vaughn follows at first, Jake Burger will be the DH, and Andrew Benintendi is in left field. Romy González is at second base, Elvis Andrus plays short, and Seby Zavala is catching; Tim Anderson and Yasmani Grandal get the day off.

Game time is at 1:10 p.m. CT. Watch on NBCSCHI and listen at ESPN 1000.