This afternoon, providing that the weather holds out, we will see a little bit of history in the making. The Chicago White Sox are in Cleveland to take on the newly named Cleveland Guardians. Technically, this will be the first time that these two teams will meet under Cleveland’s new name.
The Guardians, formerly the Indians, changed their name this year. The previous day’s game was canceled due to the weather. Hopefully, this afternoon’s game gets off without a hitch.
Tonight’s matchup features Dallas Keuchel going up against Shane Bieber who is the ace on the Guardians staff. Keuchel comes in with a record of 1-0. His ERA is 5.40 and he has five strikeouts in five innings pitched so far this year. His WHIP is 1.00.
Bieber comes in with a record of 0-0 having started two games. His ERA is 2.70 in ten innings pitched and his WHIP is .70. This promises to be an interesting matchup.
The Chicago White Sox are in Ohio to take on the Cleveland Guardians.
It would appear as if the Guardians have the pitching edge in this matchup and maybe they do. But the White Sox bats (which have yet to really “take off” and be productive) are waiting for a breakout game. Tonight’s game could be just what the doctor ordered in terms of having that breakout game that’s needed to set the tone for the offense the rest of the season.
Every single White Sox fan knows that Keuchel has struggled mightily in the past season plus. He has been more of a liability than an asset to the pitching staff and it’s likely he’s on a short leash when it comes to being a part of the starting rotation. Tonight’s game will go a long way in telling us if Keuchel is going to be a part of the rotation much longer or not.
With a good outing, Keuchel will prove his doubters wrong and be an important part of the rotation. With a bad performance, he just might get relegated to bullpen duty. It’s hard to tell what the White Sox are going to do with him should he seriously struggle in this game and take a loss.
The White Sox will have to deal with AL Player of the Week Jose Ramirez. He’s been tough this year. Hopefully, Keuchel and the bullpen won’t allow him to get the best of them. Shutting him down will be a big key to the Sox winning this game and winning the series.
The White Sox are primed and ready to show what they have got against the Guardians. The weather may not be that great but hopefully, the Sox bats come alive and they start hitting better. If they can’t do that, this is a series they could easily lose.