The Chicago White Sox and Toronto Blue Jays are locked in at a 1-1 series right now. Today’s matchup isn’t a rubber match as it is a four-game set. However, it is perhaps the premier pitching matchup of the entire series. The White Sox are throwing Lucas Giolito and the Blue Jays are throwing Robbie Ray. Fans can expect to see a very interesting matchup with these two.
For one, Lucas Giolito is having a very interesting season. He has a nice 3.77 ERA but it is high based on the expectations that Giolito has created for himself. Carlos Rodon and Lance Lynn emerging as the top two guys this season has also pushed Giolito back into that third spot but that is okay because we know what he is actually capable of.
Robbie Ray, on the other hand, has a whole point lower on his ERA as he is at a 2.79. The White Sox hitters are going to have their hands full dealing with this guy. Each pitcher is going to have to face a very good lineup loaded with big-name sluggers.
We just watched Dylan Cease vs Jose Berrios last night and it only went half like we thought it would. Dylan Cease dominated and the White Sox shelled Berrios. It would be nice to see a similar result in this game in favor of Giolito but don’t count on it.
The Chicago White Sox would love to see Lucas Giolito outduel Robbie Ray.
Each guy should have a very good game and whoever cracks first might be the hard-luck loser. Baseball is weird so an 11-10 final is certainly possible but history says that this is going to be a great pitching duel. With the power in each lineup, that would certainly be something to behold.
Lucas Giolito has created 403 swings and misses so far this season. Robbie Ray has 380. They are both in the top three in all of baseball. This means that they are both pitchers that have amazing stuff and can create confusion for hitters. You can expect each team’s lineup to strike out a lot. They combined for 20 strikeouts (11 White Sox hitters, 9 Blue Jays hitters) in Tuesday’s game and tonight’s game could have even more.
It will be fun to see who taps into their bullpen first. For the White Sox, Michael Kopech only threw 9 pitches so you would think he is available. Liam Hendriks, however, threw the most pitches that he has thrown in a single game on Tuesday so he is probably unavailable.
If the White Sox have a lead late, you can probably expect to see Aaron Bummer and Craig Kimbrel as well. Either way, Giolito vs Ray is a matchup that creates the “must watch” label for this one. It is going to be a lot of fun to see them go at it.