Jerome Williams has been, to some extent, the long man out of the bullpen for Anaheim this season, just as he has since he arrived in Southern California. His first 8 appearances this season, all out of the bullpen, were fairly impressive. Over 21 innings with just 4 earned runs allowed. On April 29 when the A’s and Angels were playing 18 innings, Williams pitched 6 of them, keeping the game going from the 19th to the 15th. He did this on 1 days rest and let up just 4 hits. His next appearance was finally a start, but he only lasted 4.1 innings and the Orioles touched him for 5 runs. That brings us to tonight, where he’ll make his second start of the 2013 season
As of late, Jose Quintana, though not a train wreck, hasn’t been so great. His strikeout rate has normalized, and his walk rate has been bouncing around quite a bit. His game logs as far as swinging strikes, zone percentages and all that fun stuff is a mess. I don’t know what to make of it. Part of it is because I’m not that smart, but part of it is just the noise that comprises of a big league baseball season. I no longer have Gavin Floyd to go palms up to and say, “I don’t know what we’re gonna get tonight,” so perhaps I’m just trying too hard to find a replacement. I’m not sure what Quintana we’re going to get today, but the Angels lineup isn’t scary. The 11 hits they provided yesterday were unfortunate, and also spread throughout the team with everybody except for Josh Hamilton (0-5, boy, he sure is broken, isn’t he?) contributing.
Today’s Lineup:
1. De Aza – LF
2. Ramirez – SS
3. Rios – RF
4. Konerko – DH
5. Dunn – 1B
6. Viciedo – LF
7. Keppinger – 3B
8. Flowers – C
9. Greene — 2B
Keppinger is dropped back down into the 8th spot as he isn’t living up to his billing as a high contact guy. His 11% strikeout rate if he continues at this rate will represent the highest of his career. His previous high being a 9.6% rate in 344 plate appearances with the Astros in 2009, a year that he produced a .256/.320/.387 line. He currently carries the unique batting line of .191/.188/.209. Not every day you see a guy with an OBP lower than his batting average. If you want to feel better about Keppinger, chew on this: that 11.1% strikeout rate is the lowest among White Sox batters with at least 20 plate appearances. Pretty neat, huh?
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Lineup:
1. Alberto Callaspo – 3B
2. Mike Trout – CF
3. Albert Pujols – DH
4. Mark Trumbo – LF
5. Josh Hamilton – RF
6. Howie Kendrick – 2B
7. Brendan Harris – SS
8. Chris Iannetta – C
9. Luis Jimenez – 1B
Where to Watch
Today’s White Sox game can be seen on WGN for the Chicago area and Fox Sports West in Los Angeles. The game will be televised on MLB Network for select markets. 6:10 Central start time.