The Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins are set to go head-to-head with one another at Target Field. It will be a three-game series and an important one as it can set up a pivotal change in the AL Central standings.
The Chicago White Sox are 4-6 so far through the early stages of the 2023 MLB season. To summarize the club thus far, the offense has been one of the best in baseball and the pitching and been one of the worst.
They have yet to find a way to capitalize from both sides of the plate during the same game. It has been a lot of one-sided baseball and it's resulted in them being two games under .500.
The Minnesota Twins have been adequate to start their season. They will play their first game against the White Sox with a 6-3 overall record, and they currently are alone at the top of the AL Central standings.
The Chicago White Sox have their hands full with the Minnesota Twins.
The Twins have a loaded pitching staff and it's been evident on the baseball diamond so far. They have a 2.48-team ERA which is the second-best in the league. While the offense has been rather mediocre, at the end of the day, good pitching mostly leads to wins.
Game one of the series will be interesting, as Dylan Cease will take the hill for the White Sox and Kenta Maeda will get the ball for the Twins.
Dylan Cease has been the lone White Sox pitcher that has dominated in all of his innings pitched thus far. He is 1-0 with a 1.59 ERA. He also has 18 strikeouts in 11.1 innings pitched. Cease is the best arm the Chicago White Sox have and it should give them the advantage for game one of the series.
At age 34, Kenta Maeda is still seeing success at the big league level. He was non-existent last year for the club due to health but now he's back with a chip on his shoulder.
In his first start of the 2023 season, he threw 5 innings, allowing only one run, while striking out 9 Miami Marlins hitters. Maeda is a smart/mature pitcher and he will most likely show that during his start versus the White Sox.
Game two will be Lance Lynn versus Pablo Lopez. Lance Lynn had an outstanding performance at Minute Maid Park, followed by a miserable outing at home against the San Francisco Giants.
Lynn is 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA. If he keeps it in the ballpark, it will most likely lead to a solid performance for the veteran arm.
If he doesn't, a repeat of his last outing can be coming in the near future. Fresh off the trade to Minnesota, Pablo Lopez has been dominant.
He has thrown 12.1 innings, giving up 1 earned run, and has 16 strikeouts. The Twins are super high on the right-handed pitcher and he has done nothing but show why they do so much. Lynn and Lopez are two experienced pitchers and it will be interesting to see how the game pans out.
The series finale will be yet another great pitching matchup as Lucas Giolito will take on Sonny Gray. Like Lynn, Giolito has had one good start followed by one bad start.
Depending on what version of Lucas the White Sox gets, this game can either be over by the third inning or close during the late stages.
This is a big year for Giolito and his 9.00 ERA isn't going to get him his big paycheck during the next off-season. Sonny Gray is right where he left off in 2022 and there are no signs of him stopping. He is 1-0 with 12 innings pitched, 1 earned run, and 14 strikeouts two starts into his 2023 campaign.
This will be a battle between an excellent offensive team (Chicago White Sox) and an excellent defensive team (Minnesota Twins). Whoever pulls away with the series win will have some momentum in a long race for first in the AL Central.