The Chicago White Sox had a horrid loss on Friday by a final score of 5-4. They were winning 3-0 and then blew it thanks to bullpen woes and bad defense. Lucas Giolito left the game early with abdominal tightness which was the bigger issue so it was just an overall bad day.
Luckily, there are 161 more games for them to get it right. This is a team with World Series aspirations so it will be interesting to see how far they can go. They need that first win of the season very badly and the next opportunity comes Saturday afternoon.
Dylan Cease is going to be on the mound for the White Sox. He was normally pegged as the number three starter but Lance Lynn is injured and will be out for a few weeks. This is his chance to really take that next step.
Cease is talented enough to be a Cy Young level guy. He was fantastic in 2021 and got even better as the season went along. The White Sox need more of the same and then some this year. He will face that very talented Detroit Tigers lineup.
The Chicago White Sox need a big win on Saturday for their first of the year.
This is going to be the last game that the White Sox don’t have Tim Anderson due to a suspension. We will still see other sluggers like Eloy Jimenez, Luis Robert, Jose Abreu, and Yasmani Grandal try to provide more offense for this team. It is an incredibly talented bunch but they need to produce.
Andrew Vaughn had a very clutch moment for the White Sox before they blew it later in the inning when he hit an absolute moonshot to give the White Sox the lead. He has the ability to get barrels on balls the way that he did on Friday with regularity and it is going to be a joy to watch. It will be interesting to see if he is in the batting order again on Saturday.
The reason that it is even in question is because of Gavin Sheets. Sheets is a lefty that absolutely mashes right-handed pitching and Casey Mize is going to be on the hill for the Tigers. He is an incredibly talented young pitcher that is still trying to develop more in MLB. He will be an ace in short order.
So far in Mize’s career, however, he has struggled against the White Sox. They are hoping to see more of that on Saturday but don’t expect it. Cease and Mize are both capable of putting on an absolute show. The thing is, so is each team’s offense.
The White Sox really needs a win. There are no must-win games in April but it feels very important to get that first one out of the way. The last thing you want to do is let things go off the rails quickly. A quality win from Cease and his teammates would go a long way. This should be fun.