Well, well, well what do we have here? The same Chicago White Sox team that blew a six-run lead just last week has now roared back to life, winning four of its last five. Unfortunately, the Cleveland Guardians are still selling their souls to win every game they play, but that streak will eventually run out … right?
Either way, the White Sox have a three-game homestand to end the season against the worst team in baseball. If they can manage a sweep and the Kansas City Royals can avoid one of their own, the division is ours. Granted, the division would be already wrapped up if the White Sox hadn’t mostly sleepwalked through September, but what are you going to do?
The South Siders have clinched a playoff spot after years of despair, and now the ball is in their court to end the season on a high note. Standing, or more acting as a traffic cone in their way, are the Colorado Rockies. To put it simply, the Rockies are pathetic and their pitching staff is the worst in the majors by a wide margin. It’s not a surprise for a franchise that’s been struggling for relevance since 2018, and the Rockies have looked like they’ve wanted to go home since the All-Star break if we’re being honest.
All that lines up for a golden opportunity for the White Sox, but we’ve seen this all before. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves and make sure the guys who are now likely extremely hungover can get the job done.
Starting for the Colorado Rockies is Tomoyuki Sugano, who may be the most confusing pitcher in history. He has a 5.36 ERA but an 12-11 record for a 102-loss team. He’s gone winless in his last seven starts, with six losses and an ERA over eight. Somehow, in the eight games before that, he had a ERA of more than 5 yet went 6-1 over that stretch.
For as bad as Sugano has been lately, he did give up just one hit and one run in his last outing against the Seattle Mariners. Somehow, the Rockies play well when he pitches, so this isn’t the “easy win” it should be on paper.
As for the White Sox, they are throwing out Sean Burke. Burke has been a stud for most of the season and while his record (3-1) over his last seven starts has been solid, his ERA of more than five has left plenty to be desired. Thanks to their own actions, the margin for error for the White Sox is nonexistent, so Burke will need to be sharp so the White Sox can get ahead early.
This is usually the part where I make a prediction and say what I think is going to happen, but I truly don’t know any longer. This team looked dead to rights after one of the worst blown leads I’ve seen in a while just last week, but somehow they’ve picked themselves up off the mat.
This Chicago team is just as likely to lose by 10 as they are to put up 20 runs, so I might as well just say to tune in. If it’s like any of the previous 159 games, it’ll be an entertaining game one way or another.
Now, would somebody PLEASE beat the Guardians?
Here is the lineup for the Chicago White Sox:
Here is the lineup for the Colorado Rockies:
First pitch is at 6:40 p.m. CDT. The game will be televised on CHSN and can be heard on ESPN Chicago 1000. Drop your predictions and thoughts down below!
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