Series Preview: Guardians at White Sox

Can Cleveland finally solve their White Sox problem?

The Guardians are somehow 5-5 against the worst team in modern baseball history this season. Let’s see if they can make that a more respectable 8-5, and, at the very least, win the season series against Chicago.

The Guardians are 81-62 with +70 run differential, 15th in MLB in team wRC+ at 99, 18th in Baserunning runs above average at -2.3, 2nd in Defensive fWAR at 17, 27th in starter FIP at 4.71, and first in bullpen FIP at 3.37.

The White Sox are 33-111 with a -302 run differential. Yep, you read that right. They are last in MLB in team wRC+ at 74, 21st in baserunning runs above average at -7.3, last in Defensive fWAR at -67.2, 28th in starter FIP at 4.75, and 28th in bullpen FIP at 4.54. The best thing they do is run the bases and they are still far below average there. Wow.

Matchups:

Game One: Joey Cantillo, LHP (7.20 FIP) vs. Jared Shuster, LHP (4.82 FIP), Monday, 7:40PM EST

Game Two: Alex Cobb, RHP (3.30 FIP) or Ben Lively, RHP vs. Jonathan Cannon, RHP (4.79 FIP), Tuesday, 7:40PM EST

Game Three: Matthew Boyd, LHP (3.35 FIP) vs. Davis Martin, RHP (4.20 FIP), Wednesday, 2:10PM EST

Analysis: The Guardians are giving Cantillo another shot at helping the big league team tonight, so let’s hope he’s ready for the challenge and also hope that manager Stephen Vogt is ready to go get him in the fourth and turn things over to Eli Morgan for a bit. Other than that, the Guardians will rely on their cagey vets to secure the season series win against the worst team in baseball history. I was going to tell you which White Sox batters are hitting at 100 wRC+ or above but there is not a single hitter projected to be in Chicago’s lineup who is over a 97 wRC+. For the love of God, find a way to sweep this series and preserve my mental health.

Also, if we can get Steven Kwan back on track, that’d be great. Thx.