Game Thread: White Sox at Pirates

South Siders have the chance to get the sweep on the road

Happy Sunday, and what a good day for some White Sox baseball. Chicago has come out swinging against the Pittsburgh Pirates after the All-Star break, scoring 20 runs in their last two games. Will they continue the trend today, and go for a sweep right out of the gate? We will have a battle of veterans, with Aaron Civale on the mound against lefty Andrew Heaney.

The last two games have been FUN, and the team looks to continue to build off of that momentum. Civale had a 1-6 record and 5.30 ERA in the first half of the season between the Milwaukee Brewers and White Sox. The 30-year-old vet was acquired for Andrew Vaughn, which we don’t need to talk more about. Whether Civale ends up traded or just an innings-eater the rest of the way, he looks to continue to put out solid performances. His last outing before the break was against the Cleveland Guardians, where he went 5 2⁄3 IP with three hits, four earned runs, two walks, and three strikeouts. A late-inning collapse had him pick up those four earned runs, but he was cruising early on, and hopefully can do the same today.

Heaney has been around the league with different teams for a while, including the Texas Rangers, Angels and New York Yankees. This year he is with the Pirates, and carries a 4-8 record with a 4.59 ERA and 1.26 WHIP. His last two outings have been very short, going just two and three innings. Before the break against the Minnesota Twins he went two innings with three hits, three runs, one walk, and no strikeouts. The best way to secure the win today for the White Sox would be to continue that trend, get on him early, and make the bullpen handle the rest — but since I said that, he will probably end up throwing a complete game now.

No Kyle Teel again because of the lefty starter, as switch-hitter Edgar Quero gets the start over him. No Andrew Benintendi as well, but in a close game with a righty bullpen arm look for either to come off of the bench in a pinch-hitter situation. Will Luis Robert Jr. continue to show out? How about Mike Tauchman and Michael A. Taylor, after their recent offensive performances?

Game time is at 12:35 p.m. CT on CHSN. Listen on ESPN 1000, or on the ESPN Chicago app.