Gamethread: Athletics at White Sox

The White Sox finally won their 50th game of the season Sunday, walking off the Mariners to avoid the sweep on a throwing error. They did coin the term “Winning Ugly,” didn’t they? With the Oakland Athletics (36-91) coming to town, if the South Siders do happen to win, I can’t imagine any of the baseball played on the field being any more graceful than yesterday’s.

The A’s are having a strange year, which is probably putting it mildly. They are the worst team in baseball, last in several offensive and defensive categories; the stadium is falling apart, their owner is trying to move the team, and the fans are (rightfully!) revolting. And let’s not forget the horrific -304 run differential, WOOF. Oakland owner John Fisher is probably thrilled that Jerry Reinsdorf is taking so much of the spotlight after firing Kenny Williams and Rick Hahn earlier this week. That is until A’s and White Sox fans team up for a reverse boycott that is scheduled for this evening. Jerry, John — if you are somehow reading this, it’s time to sell the team, pals.

Back to the baseball. Lefthander, Ken Waldichuk, will take the mound for Oakland tonight, who has a 5.91 ERA on the season, complemented by a 1.68 WHIP — frequently walking too many batters, which is also a problem that White Sox pitchers seem to have. South Side hitters used to be a threat when facing a lefty, but they sit right in the middle of the pack, 21st in the league, and just a .707 OPS against them. Luis Robert Jr. can be a threat to any pitcher with the year he’s having, and bats like his or Eloy Jiménez could give him a hard time tonight.

Jesse Scholtens makes his seventh start of the year, and while he has a 1-6 record this season, compared to Waldichuk, he is sitting at a much stronger 3.79 ERA and 1.35 WHIP. Scholtens has 22 walks to his 42 strikeouts, so we’d still like to see him refine his control a bit more in order to be a reliable starter. Interestingly enough, his ERA splits are better when on the road, posting a 3.62 ERA compared to a 4.09 ERA at home — maybe he can boost those numbers a bit tonight? The Athletics hold the worst OPS against righthanded pitchers in all of baseball, so Jesse can likely keep them at bay if he can limit free baserunners.

Here’s the White Sox lineup:

And the Athletics lineup:

Of course, the billionaire owners likely don’t care about the message, but I hope the reverse boycott makes enough noise because both team’s fans — especially Oakland’s fans — deserve to keep their team in their city.

The game will be aired in the usual locations on NBCSC and ESPN AM 1000. Let’s cause some chaos!