White Sox face division rivals in Detroit to start 10-game road trip. South Siders start trip two games above .500 and coming off a sweep of Kansas City.
The Chicago White Sox are supposed to be rebuilding right? Its hard to tell after the Sox just swept the Kansas City Royals and are two games above .500. The Sox begin a 10 game road trip with a visit to the Motor City to face the Detroit Tigers on Friday.
With the Sox coming off a sweep at home of the Kansas City Royals, the team is riding positive momentum to start their series at Comerica Park. The Sox had a successful home stand with a 4-2 record in six games. Surprisingly, the Sox last road trip was good as they posted a 5-4 record and won two series against the Cleveland Indians and Minnesota Twins.
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The Sox will start a three game series against the Tigers on Friday with Mike Pelfrey on the mound. Pelfrey will be starting his second game of the season as he’s replacing the injured James Shields in the rotation. Shields was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a right lat strain injury on April 21. Pelfrey didn’t have a good outing in his first start for the Sox on April 22 and will be facing his former team on Friday.
The Tigers are coming off a series in which they lost two out of three games to the Seattle Mariners. Detroit sits at 11-10 and will start their series with the Sox with Matt Boyd on the mound. Boyd is 2-1 with a 3.86 ERA. The 26-year-old starter was roughed up in his first start of the season against the Sox on April 6. Boyd allowed five earned runs in just 2.1 innings pitched against the Sox, but has had better results since April 6.
The Sox will start Derek Holland on Saturday against the Tigers. Detroit will send Michael Fulmer to the mound. Holland at 2-2 with a 1.99 ERA will look to build upon a successful outing in his last start on Sunday against the Indians. The 30-year-old veteran recorded six strikeouts in six innings pitched against Cleveland.
After the Sox conclude their three game series in Detroit, they will head to Kansas City to begin a four game slate with the Royals starting on Monday. The Royals are reeling after being swept by the Sox and have lost seven consecutive games. Kansas City has the worst offense in the majors, and they don’t appear to be the strong team they were from 2014-2015. This could be the final season of the Royals core including Lorenzo Cain, Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas.
The Sox will finish their road trip in Baltimore with a three game series against the hot Orioles beginning on May 5. Baltimore currently leads the AL East, and they’re third in MLB in pitching with a 3.41 team ERA. The Sox lead MLB with a 2.92 ERA. The Orioles pitching rotation is led by Dylan Bundy who has a 1.65 ERA with three wins early this season.
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With the Sox enjoying a surprising start to the season, this upcoming road trip could be pivotal for the team’s success in 2017. The 10 game road trip will be tough for the Sox, but they’ve played well to start the season and could continue to surprise. If the Sox are able to have another successful road trip, it could be time to believe in this team again.