Chicago White Sox: Breakdown of the Wild Card Series

The Chicago White Sox are about to take on the Oakland A’s in the first round.

On Tuesday, the Chicago White Sox has a date with the Oakland Athletics who are the champions of the American League West. Despite the fact that the two teams finished one game apart in the regular season, the White Sox dropped five seeds below the A’s. The Athletics finished as the No. 2 seed, while the White Sox were slapped with the No. 7 seed following a loss to the Chicago Cubs and a Cleveland Indians victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. That results in a trip to Oakland for the start of the postseason. Tuesday will be the first meeting of the season between the two ball clubs.

Oakland has been a house of horrors for the White Sox. They have lost eight of their last nine games there. That bodes well for the A’s who are tied for first for the American league’s best record at home going 22-10 in the Oakland Coliseum. However, the White Sox has shown they are capable of winning on the road this year. They are tied for the AL’s second-highest win total away from home going 17-13.

The White Sox also owns a slight advantage offensively. Oakland ranked eighth in the American League in runs scored and tenth in OPS. To put that in perspective they finished slightly ahead of the Royals. Meanwhile, the White Sox ranked second in runs scored and OPS along with finishing at the top of the pack in home runs, and slugging percentage.

Both teams limped into the wildcard round. The White Sox finished the season with a horrific 2-8 stretch while the A’s lost five of their final eight games. In the best of three series, it will be important for both teams to get off to a fast start. Losing Game 1 could spell a short stay in the playoffs. Here is everything you need to know about how the White Sox matchup up with the Athletics in the Wild Card round: