After winning just one game versus the Baltimore Orioles, the Chicago White Sox have a lot of winning to do to keep pace with the likes of the Minnesota Twins and the Cleveland Guardians.
They have a critically important series coming up against the Los Angeles Angels which they must win or they will find themselves falling further back in the standings.
The good news is that the Angeles are a beatable team despite the fact that they have superstars Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani. Of course, the White Sox have struggled on offense for the most part and they will need a good bit of it to beat the Angels.
Just like any series they have played, the White Sox could easily win this one and be in a better position when it’s all said and done.
The first game of the series will take place on Monday night and feature White Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito going up against Angels pitcher Noah Syndergaard. Both are right-hand pitchers and both are good but Giolito has really been struggling as of late.
With the way he’s been playing lately, it is fair to doubt Giolito here. The White Sox will likely lose this first game if Giolito plays the way that he has been and will start the series off on the wrong foot. If Giolito can get back to form and the offense gets going, the White Sox could win this game.
The Chicago White Sox need to gain some steam and win a few games in a row.
The second game of the series, which takes place this Tuesday night, will put Johnny Cueto against a pitcher yet to be determined by the Angels. Cueto comes in with a record of 1-4, an ERA of 3.19, and 40 strikeouts.
Cueto has been very good as of late and if he can shut down the Angel’s big bats, the White Sox might just have a chance to win.
One thing that has been lacking when Cueto starts is the offense. They do not show up that well when Cueto makes a start. That has to change in this game and could depending on who is pitching for the Angels on Tuesday night.
Wednesday’s game will have Michael Kopech going up against all-world pitcher Shohei Ohtani. This promises to be the best game of the series as it puts two great pitchers up against one another.
Kopech enters the game with a record of 2-4. His ERA is 2.59 and he has 57 strikeouts. Ohtani comes into the game with a record of 6-4 and a 2.90 ERA with 90 strikeouts.
Who has the advantage in this one? It would appear as if Ohtani would have it but Kopech has been very good. We will have a low-scoring game until the starting pitchers leave and then things will heat up. This is truly anyone’s game.
It’s ideal that the White Sox would win the series but two out of the three games are going to be very difficult for them. If Giolito can overcome whatever has been ailing him, the White Sox could win that game.
We can hope for a series win, which we think that the White Sox should get but anything can happen. They should win at least one of the three games coming up against the Angels but we have to hope that they win more than that.