This Monday the (67-66) Chicago White Sox and the (75-58) Seattle Mariners will play game one of this three-game series. The first pitch will be thrown out at 6:40 PM EST inside T-Mobile Park. The last time these two teams matched up the White Sox won two of three games, as they had it working on the mound.
The White Sox are coming into this one after winning their previous series against the Minnesota Twins. Chicago won the first two games, as they were seeing the ball great at the plate. They scored 17 combined runs in those two games, as they will need to stay hot at the plate in this one.
The Seattle Mariners are entering this one after a tough series with the Cleveland Guardians. Seattle also won the first two games, as they looked great at the plate and on the mound. They scored 10 combined runs and only allowed one in the first two games of that series.
This game wa s written/published before last night's results.
The Chicago White Sox are currently 5-5 in their last 10 games, but they have won four in a row. Unfortunately, they are still 6.0 games back from the Toronto Blue Jays for the third and final AL Wild Card spot. Chicago is also only 2.0 games back from the Cleveland Guardians for first place in the AL Central. They can still win their division.
At the plate, the White Sox are scoring 4.31 runs per game and they are hitting .261 as a team. This is the 19th most runs per game, but the highest overall team batting average. They have shown that they can consistently reach base, but they haven't been able to show up when they have men in scoring position. The White Sox have also realized that they have very little power littered throughout their lineup. They are being forced to string together multiple base hits to score, as their power just hasn't been there. They are currently hitting .89 home runs per game, whic h is the 26th lowest average in the MLB. I also expect the White Sox to say conservative once they have reached base safely. They have only stolen 41 bases this season, which is the 26th most in the league.
According to MLB.com, the White Sox will be starting Lance Lynn on the mound. He is currently 4-5 with a 4.70 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. In his last start, he pitched for 7.0 innings and only gave up one earned run against the Royals. He did lose back-to-back starts before that game, though. Lynn has also been bad on the road this season, as he is 0-3 with a 5.59 ERA outside of their home ballpark. The White Sox bullpen has the 19th lowest bullpen ERA, as well. As a team, the White Sox are allowing the 18th most runs per game.