Gamethread: Twins at White Sox

The Chicago White Sox (56-90) are home this weekend as they embark on a four-game set with the AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins (76-70). The South Siders have (unsurprisingly) lost four of their last five, including dropping a series to the last place Kansas City Royals. It’s been a super fun week, all around!

José Ureña will make his second start for the White Sox, and ideally we see a similar performance as we did earlier this week against the Tigers, where he went four innings and gave up just one run. He has an 8.46 ERA on the year, racking up most of these high numbers while with the Colorado Rockies. Ureña relies most heavily on his fastball, which he throws 31% of the time, but he throws all of his pitches with regularity, with his Changeup get utilized the least at about 20%.

The South Siders will leadoff with Tim Anderson, and look to their hot hitters, Yoán Moncada and Andrew Vaughn, to pave the way for the offense.

Let’s see how Pedro Grifol lined them up:

Kenta Maeda is on the mound for the Twins and will make his 19th start on the season. His last five games have been less than stellar, with a 6.56 ERA, but he’s had a better year overall with a 4.65 ERA, and an even stronger road performance, at a 3.42 ERA. The White Sox have been struggling to produce runs this week, outside of the one game they lost in KC where they put up 10, so it’s highly likely we see the same caliber offense against Minnesota.

Maeda’s slider and split finger get thrown at about the same clip, 31% of the time, with the splitter being his most effective pitch. It has produced the lowest BA and SLG, with a .204 and .292, respectively, and this other pitches all slugging at a .494 or higher. The Twins will bolster their lineup with Willi Castro and Royce Lewis, who have both been on fire over their last 10 games.

Here’s how the Twins have them lined up:

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