The Chicago White Sox are gearing up to play the New York Yankees on Saturday night. They are really hoping to salvage a series tie with them after dropping the first two on Thursday and Friday. A win on Saturday would give them a chance on Sunday to do so.
In this game, the Chicago White Sox will have Dallas Keuchel on the mound. This is a scary idea with the big-time hitters in the New York Yankees lineup. Keuchel has not been good over the last two seasons because his location isn’t what it once was.
Keuchel needs the opposing team to hit the ball to record most of his outs because he doesn’t have nasty stuff combined with high-velocity heat. Teams have been teeing off on him over the last season and a half, so seeing him play the Yankees might be a struggle.
This is a chance for Dallas to save his White Sox career. If he goes out there and does well against the Yankees, things might be different for him this season. He is already coming off a decent start against the Boston Red Sox last week and they have good hitters in that lineup too.
The Chicago White Sox are in big-time need of a good start from Dallas Keuchel.
It isn’t going to be easy but it is something that is certainly important. If he goes out there and lets guys like Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Anthony Rizzo, and Josh Donaldson amongst others dominate him, he might lose his job.
Vince Velasquez and Johnny Cueto are both in the mix to be the fifth starter when Lance Lynn returns (in addition to Dylan Cease, Lucas Giolito, and Michael Kopech) so Keuchel is on thin ice. This is a chance for him to really own the moment.
For the Yankees, Jordan Montgomery is on the mound. He is a good left-handed pitcher but the White Sox bats should be able to do something with this guy as they have done well against lefties in recent years.
Giving Keuchel some run support might really help him get a big win. Things haven’t been great for this team to begin the year but there is plenty of time to get things going. A huge win over the Yankees at home on a Saturday night would be the perfect time to start a winning streak.