The surging Chicago White Sox look to inch closer to first place in the AL Central as they visit the Oakland A's in the third game of a four game series Saturday. The White Sox won a series between these two teams earlier this season 2 games to 1. Lance Lynn (5-5) takes the mound for the White Sox while Adrian Martinez (4-3) gets the start for the A's.
Of the three teams battling for first place in the AL Central, the White Sox are playing the best. As of Friday, the White Sox were 1.5 games behind the Guardians and tied with the Twins. The Twins and Guardians are playing one another this weekend, while the White Sox face the worst team in baseball, the A's. This is a golden opportunity for the White Sox to take the lead in the division. They won the opening game of this series Thursday by the score of 14-2, Dylan Cease got the win and Yoan Moncada went 5 for 6 with 2 home runs and 5 RBI.
5-for-6, 5 RBI. Yoan Moncada went off tonight!#ChangeTheGame x @ValpoU pic.twitter.com/Ep0b62ykXv
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) September 9, 2022
Lance Lynn gets the start for the White Sox on Saturday. The right hander is 5-5 on the season with an ERA of 4.34 in 16 starts. He has 102 strikeouts and 14 walks in 91.1 innings pitched. Lynn was on fire in his last start, a 3-2 win over the Mariners. He allowed 1 run on 3 hits in 7 innings with 11 strikeouts and 1 walk. Lynn got rocked for 5 runs on 6 hits with 8 strikeouts in 5.2 innings against the A's earlier this season. In his career versus Oakland, Lynn is 4-2 with an ERA of 3.99 and 68 strikeouts in 9 appearances. The White Sox have a team ERA of 3.96, which is 18th in the league. The bullpen has an ERA of 4.14, which is 21st in the league.