<img alt="MLB: Atlanta Braves at New York Yankees" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/fPDiH8gQ_6QBeGWf-kYlAafC2yg=/0x0:3975x2650/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73431373/usa_today_23595789.0.jpg">
Chris Sale looks to continue his dominance | Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
Chris Sale is facing the team who drafted him in a one game makeup from April The Atlanta Braves are in Chicago today to face off against the White Sox in a makeup game from April third. Chris Sale is going to face his former team that drafted him, and played for, in the first seven years of his career.
The Braves went 1-1 against the White Sox when they played them in early April. The Braves far outscored the White Sox with twelve runs, while the White Sox were limited to three runs.
Austin Riley led the charge in the first game going 2-4 with a HR, four RBI, and two runs scored. Every single starter had at least one hit. In the second game Marcell Ozuna had two solo HRs in the loss.
Since then, the White Sox have continued to struggle to score runs. The White Sox are dead last in MLB in runs scored, by a decent margin. Their team wRC+ is also well below average at 76. For reference, the Braves are fourteenth in wRC+ at 101.
The Braves’ offense has been much better as of late ranking seventh in MLB in runs scored over the last two weeks and eleventh in wRC+. The White Sox have still been near the bottom at twenty-ninth in runs, and twenty-eight in wRC+ during the same span.
Chris Sale has been dominant this season, and seemingly is in the run for at minimum some Cy Young down votes. In 86.2 innings he leads the National League in wins (10), FIP (2.31), walks per nine innings (1.7), and strikeouts to walk ratio (6.69) among qualified starters.
6.69 strikeout to walk ratio is insanely good. In total, he has one-hundred-seven strikeouts to only sixteen walks. He is tied for ninth in MLB in total strikeouts and fifth fewest walks among qualified starters.
Sale has faced eight different players on the White Sox roster and five of them neither have a walk nor hit against him. To be fair, only one player has had more than five at-bats against him, but it is still impressive.
Veteran catcher Martin Maldonado has fifteen career at-bats against Sale. In these at bats he has a .200 average and a HR, but has only managed an OPS of .600. Although a .600 OPS against Sale may be considered a success among many hitters with how he is pitching this year, Maldonado’s “success” against Sale came earlier in his career. This season as a whole Maldonado is struggling mightily with a slash of .088/.140/.132.
The one player to watch for against Sale is Tommy Pham. He only has five at-bats against Sale, but has had no problem causing damage in that small sample size. He has a .400 average against him with a 1.100 OPS.
At this time, the White Sox have not announced who will start today’s game, and MLB.com and ESPN do not have a probable starter listed. If there were an educated guess it looks like rookie Drew Thorpe may get the nod. He currently has 14.1 IP under his belt and has struggled to a 5.02 ERA and 1.535 WHIP.
This could be a good set-up for Sale to pad his stats even more, in a fun setting where he started his career. Elder was brought up last night to give Sale an extra day of rest. It makes you wonder if the decision was twofold. To allow him rest while also giving him a start in his first home stadium.
First pitch is at 4:10 ET and can be seen on Bally Sports South.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Thursday, June 27, 4:10 p.m. ET
Location: Guaranteed Rate Field, Chicago, IL.
TV: Bally Sports South
Streaming: MLB.tv
Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan
<img alt="MLB: Atlanta Braves at New York Yankees" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/fPDiH8gQ_6QBeGWf-kYlAafC2yg=/0x0:3975x2650/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73431373/usa_today_23595789.0.jpg">
Chris Sale looks to continue his dominance | Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
Chris Sale is facing the team who drafted him in a one game makeup from April The Atlanta Braves are in Chicago today to face off against the White Sox in a makeup game from April third. Chris Sale is going to face his former team that drafted him, and played for, in the first seven years of his career.
The Braves went 1-1 against the White Sox when they played them in early April. The Braves far outscored the White Sox with twelve runs, while the White Sox were limited to three runs.
Austin Riley led the charge in the first game going 2-4 with a HR, four RBI, and two runs scored. Every single starter had at least one hit. In the second game Marcell Ozuna had two solo HRs in the loss.
Since then, the White Sox have continued to struggle to score runs. The White Sox are dead last in MLB in runs scored, by a decent margin. Their team wRC+ is also well below average at 76. For reference, the Braves are fourteenth in wRC+ at 101.
The Braves’ offense has been much better as of late ranking seventh in MLB in runs scored over the last two weeks and eleventh in wRC+. The White Sox have still been near the bottom at twenty-ninth in runs, and twenty-eight in wRC+ during the same span.
Chris Sale has been dominant this season, and seemingly is in the run for at minimum some Cy Young down votes. In 86.2 innings he leads the National League in wins (10), FIP (2.31), walks per nine innings (1.7), and strikeouts to walk ratio (6.69) among qualified starters.
6.69 strikeout to walk ratio is insanely good. In total, he has one-hundred-seven strikeouts to only sixteen walks. He is tied for ninth in MLB in total strikeouts and fifth fewest walks among qualified starters.
Sale has faced eight different players on the White Sox roster and five of them neither have a walk nor hit against him. To be fair, only one player has had more than five at-bats against him, but it is still impressive.
Veteran catcher Martin Maldonado has fifteen career at-bats against Sale. In these at bats he has a .200 average and a HR, but has only managed an OPS of .600. Although a .600 OPS against Sale may be considered a success among many hitters with how he is pitching this year, Maldonado’s “success” against Sale came earlier in his career. This season as a whole Maldonado is struggling mightily with a slash of .088/.140/.132.
The one player to watch for against Sale is Tommy Pham. He only has five at-bats against Sale, but has had no problem causing damage in that small sample size. He has a .400 average against him with a 1.100 OPS.
At this time, the White Sox have not announced who will start today’s game, and MLB.com and ESPN do not have a probable starter listed. If there were an educated guess it looks like rookie Drew Thorpe may get the nod. He currently has 14.1 IP under his belt and has struggled to a 5.02 ERA and 1.535 WHIP.
This could be a good set-up for Sale to pad his stats even more, in a fun setting where he started his career. Elder was brought up last night to give Sale an extra day of rest. It makes you wonder if the decision was twofold. To allow him rest while also giving him a start in his first home stadium.
First pitch is at 4:10 ET and can be seen on Bally Sports South.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Thursday, June 27, 4:10 p.m. ET
Location: Guaranteed Rate Field, Chicago, IL.
TV: Bally Sports South
Streaming: MLB.tv
Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan
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