This Thursday the (68-68) Chicago White Sox and the (50-86) Oakland Athletics will play game one of this four-game series. The first pitch will be thrown out at 9:40 PM EST inside the Oakland Coliseum. The last time these two teams matched up, the Chicago White Sox ended up taking two of three games.
The Chicago White Sox are coming into this one after a tough series with the Seattle Mariners. These two teams split the first two games, as the White Sox looked great on the mound in game one, but they struggled at the plate in game two. They will need to pick it up if they want to start this series strong.
The Oakland Athletics are entering this one after a short two-game series with the Atlanta Braves. In game one, the Athletics took the Braves to extra innings, as they continued to grind at the plate. Unfortunately, they ended up losing 10-9. They will need to stay hot at the plate in this one, though.
This game was written/published before last night's results.
The Chicago White Sox are currently 7.5 games back from the Toronto Blue Jays for the third and final AL Wild Card spot. They are also 5-5 in their last 10, as they will need to heat up at the plate if they want to make a push towards the postseason. The White Sox still have a chance to win their division, though. They are only 3.0 games back from the Cleveland Guardians.
At the plate, the White Sox are scoring 4.24 runs per game and they are hitting .260 as a team. This is the third-highest overall team batting average, but only the 20th most runs scored per game. Chicago has shown that they can consistently reach base, but they have stranded a ton of base runners when they are in scoring position this season. The White Sox have been forced to string together multiple base hits to create a big inning, as they don't have much power littered throughout their lineup. They are only hitting .88 home runs per game, whi ch is the fourth lowest average in the MLB. I also expect the White Sox to stay conservative once they have reached base safely. They have only stolen 42 bases, which is the 26th least in the league. They have allowed their bats to move their base runners into scoring position.
According to MLB.com, the White Sox will be starting Dylan Cease on the mound. He is 13-6 with a 2.13 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. Reaching base consistently has been a real struggle for his opponents this season. He has also been a road warrior, as he is 7-3 on the road with a 1.78 ERA. In his last start, he pitched for 9.0 innings and he didn't give up an earned run. He completely shut down the Twins the last time he was on the mound. The White Sox bullpen has been up and down this season, though. They have the 21st lowest overall ERA, as they are allowing 4.13 runs per game. As a team, the White Sox are allowing 4.46 runs per game, which is the 18th least in the MLB.