Gamethread: Mariners at White Sox

As the world whirls around the White Sox (49-77), fans were first elated yesterday by the news that KennyRick will no longer be destroying their favorite team. Then, said fans quickly deflated when Lord Jerry’s typist proclaimed the new General Manager/Lord Jerry water carrier is bound to be Chris Getz, given a chance to take his colossal failure running the minor leagues on upward so he can colossally fail on a higher level.

So much for elation; this brings us to today’s game, part of the string the Sox on the field are playing out, this time on a sweltering afternoon. They will be playing it under the management of Pedro Grifol, whose job is supposedly safe for next season. If true, a demonstration that the new GM will just be a Lord Jerry bootlicker with no absolute authority to make his own decisions.

This morning, the White Sox shuffled a few relief pitchers around and sent Zach Remillard, who had committed the crime of playing like he really likes baseball, down to Charlotte.

Taking the mound for the Good Guys will be Michael Kopech, who has matched the number of innings pitched with the number of walks allowed in his last four outings and, this time, will face a Seattle Mariners (71-55) team that’s on a nine-game winning streak. Will it be the Michael Kopech who can’t hit the broad side of an airplane hangar or the old version that blew pitches past batters one and all? Only The Shadow knows.

Pitching for the Mariners will be righty George Kirby, who was shelled by the Royals in his last outing. An interesting turn of events since, in his previous three starts, he shut down the Orioles, Angels, and Red Sox. Kirby has a six-pitch repertoire, led by a 96-mph fastball that he uses 40% of the time, followed by a sinker of similar velocity.

Tim Anderson is back from his five-game suspension for practicing boxing without a license or any skills. So, of course, Grifol, showing us why he’s earned another year on the job, has TA and his .285 on-base percentage leading off.

Kopech will take on a Mariners lineup that has scored 20 runs in the first two games of the series and hasn’t lost since Aug. 14.

The first pitch is set for 1:10 p.m. CST in temps that are supposed to be 96 degrees around the stadium and will no doubt will be higher inside it. The heat might be a break for the Sox since anyone from Seattle is used to things a lot cooler. Watch on NBCSCHI and listen in at ESPN-AM 1000.