Strap it in, White Sox fans, tonight’s the final showdown with the Kansas City Royals, before the mighty Yankees roll into town tomorrow. Let’s hope this Hump Day game is better than what we had to endure last night. Blowouts sting, but those one-run heartbreakers where the lead slips away late in the contest are the real crushers. I’m just hoping that since Jordan Leasure had his meltdown last night, it means I don’t have to watch him on my screen today.
Righthander Aaron Civale gets the pill for Chicago, looking to shake off the month of August, which has not been kind to the hurler. The veteran has stumbled to a 1-2 record with a 6.97 ERA and 1.38 WHIP. Additionally, hitters have been torching him for a .275 BA during that span. It’s probably not a great time for him to face the Royals either, as their offense has been tearing it up, slashing .263 with 19 home runs and slugging .448 over the last 15 days. So hold on to your hats because the ball might be flying all over the yard tonight.
Here’s how the Royals send them out.
Across the diamond, Ryan Bergert gets the call for Kansas City. The 25-year-old has fared much better down the stretch than Civale, posting a 2.82 ERA and a stingy 0.94 WHIP in August. The righthander also hasn’t surrendered more than two runs in an outing since late June. The Good Guys’ offense has been swinging hot bats as well, so it will be interesting to see if they can get anything going against Bergert. The South Siders are leading the American League with a .278 average over the last 15 days, which is also good for third-best in all of baseball. The key will be for the Sox to get to the Royals early, because if KC heads into the ninth with the lead, it’s over. Their pen owns a 3.31 ERA in the last frame, which is third-best in the league.
Will Venable lines them up like this tonight.
Catch all the action on CHSN at 6:40 p.m. CST, now available on Comcast, DIRECTV, and Fubo. If TV’s not an option, let Len Kasper and Darin Jackson bring the game to life on ESPN 1000.