The Chicago White Sox won their second straight series after beating the Washinton Nationals yesterday. The team has also won three of its last four series matchups.
Even more impressive was the White Sox won their latest series by shutting out the Washington Nationals over two straight games.
After starting the season 3-22, the Sox are 11-8 over their past 19 games. Celebrate that White Sox nation! The team might not be historically bad after all. They are still not a good baseball team, but they are somewhere between fun bad and run-of-the-mill terrible.
While the sun is shining on the Sox season, dark clouds are approaching with this upcoming stretch of schedule.
The White Sox kick off a 39-game brutal stretch against the New York Yankees. The Yankees currently sit at the top of the AL East, one of the toughest divisions in baseball. The Yankees feature superstars such as Aaron Judge and Juan Soto. New York is also the second-best team in baseball in hitting home runs and fourth in the league in OPS.
The Sox will run out Mike Clevinger (who is still working himself into being able to handle a starting pitcher's workload), Brad Keller (who is not exactly an upgrade over Michael Soroka), and Chris Flexen (who only pitches great against the Tampa Bay Rays). Those are three pitchers who have been very inconsistent in putting the Sox in a position to win.
The White Sox will have to counter the Yankees offense with a lineup that is tied for dead-last in home runs and OPS. This might not be a fun weekend in the Bronx.
The Sox then have to travel to Canada where they have not beaten the Toronto Blue Jays at the Roger Centre since August 26, 2021.
At least the White Sox get a chance to play Toronto a week later at home. The Blue Jays are struggling like the Nationals so maybe there is a chance to win a series. Before the Jays are in town, the Sox have to host the Baltimore Orioles for a four-game set. Thankfully, Erick Fedde and Garrett Crochet are scheduled to pitch the final two games of that series. Those two have been outstanding on the mound to where the White Sox have a chance to win every time they pitch.
The Sox then have a five-game road trip against the Milwaukee Brewers and the Chicago Cubs. Those two teams are battling it out for the NL Central. Plus, the Brewers have one of the hottest hitters in baseball in William Contreras. The Crew hit home runs, get timely pitching, and field the ball. The Cubs' bullpen is shaky, but not much else.
The Sox come home to face Boston, then immediately go back on the road to face Seattle who is currently leading the AL West. The Sox do get a chance to face the Arizona Diamondbacks after playing the Mariners, but it is still a series played on Mountain time.
At least Houston comes to town after that and they are playing like a team whose contention window is closing. Then the Sox have to go Detroit. The White Sox have just one win on the season against the Tigers, Kansas City Royals, and Minnesota Twins. That one win did not come against the Tigers.
Then finally, the stretch ends with Los Angeles Dodgers bringing their star-studded lineup to Chicago and the Braves returning for a game that needed to be made after it was rained out early in the season.
That is a stretch where the Sox could return to being historically bad. They are going to need Fedde and Crochet to pitch at the rate they are currently throwing at. Also, Luis Robert Jr. hopefully is back during this stretch. Hopefully, Andrew Vaughn can continue the strong hitting he has had over the past couple of games.
The Sox' two through five hitters cannot perform like they did in the first two games at Tampa. They cannot go hitless and do nothing during those two games if the Sox want to have any shot at making it through this stretch with a couple of series victories.
Let's not forget the White Sox are going to trade off veterans by the trade deadline. While it will be nice to see the young players get a shot, it might not mean a lot of wins. That is why this might be the best stretch of baseball this season.