Game Thread: Cardinals at White Sox

South Siders look to snap five-game losing streak as they come back home to take on St. Louis

The White Sox (23-49) are back in Chicago to take on the St. Louis Cardinals (37-35) in a three-game set before heading back out on the road. The South Siders have lost five in a row and were just swept in Texas over the weekend.

Prior to the game, the White Sox made their usual slew of roster moves. Brooks Baldwin has become the new Danny Mendick, shuffling back and forth between the big leagues and Charlotte. Many are wondering why he continues to be sent down rather than getting big league at-bats in place of Vinny Capra, but your guess is as good as mine. Lenyn Sosa will be returning from his rehab assignment off the 10-day IL, and lefthander Fraser Ellard will head to the Knights to begin his.

Shane Smith is out for this 14th start of the season and has continued to shine as the ace of this White Sox ball club. He’s maintained a 2.37 ERA across 68 1⁄3 innings, and has struck out 64 compared to 27 walks and has posted a 1.171 WHIP.

Behind him, Smith will have a struggling offense that is ranked 25th in OPS (.660) and 27th in slugging percentage (.354) over the past two weeks. Michael A. Taylor has the top OPS (.941) in the same time frame, but in just 20 at-bats. Luis Robert Jr. has started to come back to life, and has been on an upswing these past couple of weeks (30 ABs), slashing .300/.364/.467 and leading the team with eight RBIs.

On the mound for St. Louis is lefthander Matthew Liberatore, also making his 14th start of the season. In 73 1⁄3 innings, Liberatore has racked up a 4.17 ERA and 62 strikeouts, but he walks very few batters at an impressive 3.6% walk rate and has allowed just 11 on the season.

First pitch will take place at 6:40 p.m. CT and can be watched on CHSN, or you can tune into ESPN Chicago AM 1000 for the radio broadcast. Let’s play three!