Chicago White Sox: Pitching matchups vs Cleveland Guardians

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The Chicago White Sox trail the Cleveland Guardians by 4.0 games in the AL Central Division. The Minnesota Twins tried to gift wrap the division for the Guardians by losing seven out of eight games against them in September but the White Sox still have a chance.

With three games ahead starting on Tuesday, the division is still very much up for grabs. The White Sox will have a legit shot at winning it if they sweep them but they really do need to take it game by game.

If they do sweep them they are going to then have the tie-breaker as the winner of the season series. This is a great chance for the White Sox to get back on top of the division and finish strong after a mostly disappointing season.

Starting pitching is going to be the key for both teams in this one. Whoever’s starters show up and pitch the best is going to take the series. Each team is loaded with talent in that department. These are the pitching matchups in each game:

Game One – Dylan Cease vs Aaron Civale

The Chicago White Sox have their ace available for game one of this series.

The Chicago White Sox have a distinct pitching advantage in the first game of this series as Dylan Cease is going to face Aaron Civale. This is a case where both teams are trotting out a good pitcher but the White Sox have the guy in Cy Young contention here.

Civale is 2-6 with an ERA of 5.40. That is not good at all but the 2022 White Sox have often struggled with good pitchers having tough years. Cease could dominate but the Guardians have hitters that can hit the best pitchers so don’t chalk this up as a win or a loss.

On paper, the White Sox should win this one but both Cease and the hitters need to be at their best in order to take the win.

Game Two – Lance Lynn vs Triston McKenzie

Lance Lynn has been magnificent for the Chicago White Sox in the second half.

The Chicago White Sox had a little bit of a scare with Lance Lynn earlier this season. He missed the first few months of the season due to injury and then he struggled when he came back. That was very scary as he was such a big part of the team in 2021.

Lynn signed an extension that made him so important to this team so the idea of him playing badly was a tough thing to think about. Now, however, he has been right back to where he was a year ago when he came in third place for the Cy Young Award in the American League.

Now, on Wednesday, he is going to make the most important regular-season start of his White Sox tenure. Game two of this series will see Lynn go up against Triston McKenzie of the Cleveland Guardians. It is going to be an insane display of talent on the mound for both teams.

McKenzie has had both good and bad starts this season against the White Sox. You can probably expect the best version of McKenzie in a game like this because he has truly developed into an outstanding Major League pitcher. The White Sox are going to have to deal with him a lot in the future.

These two have already faced each other once before so it is going to be fun seeing how they match up again. For Lynn, he really needs to pull through for his team here.

Game Three – Johnny Cueto vs Shane Bieber

Johnny Cueto can add to his amazing Chicago White Sox season on Thursday.

The Chicago White Sox have gotten everything that they needed and then some from Johnny Cueto this season. He has been the team’s best signing by far and now they need him to be that good for just a few more starts. None will be as big as this one in the season finale against the Cleveland Guardians.

Cueto isn’t the strikeout machine that he was once upon a time but he is very good at getting outs every possible way. He has shown that he isn’t afraid of a single hitter and that he is willing to go deep into games in order to help preserve his bullpen. That might be needed by the time we reach game three.

If Cueto can make a great start here, the White Sox better hope that their offense can get to Shane Bieber who is one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball. He has been so good recently that he could be the guy who takes home the Cy Young too.

There are probably a few guys (including Cease) that are ahead of him in that race but he is coming for it. A big start against the White Sox is on the horizon for him. If the White Sox are going to beat him, they need to get to him early and often.

These are two teams with outstanding pitchers that are looking to help their team to a great win. A division title is on the line here so the White Sox pitchers need to be at their best while the offense gets to these great Cleveland arms.

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