Coming off of Monday’s roller coaster of a game that ended in a walk-off win, the South Siders look to take another game over Cleveland in the AL Central Division race behind righthander Sean Burke. The righty was lights out in one of the best starts of his career against the Yankees last week, tossing 7 1/3 innings to complete the game, allowing just one run and a walk while striking out eight along the way. This will be Burke’s 12th actual start, but his 16th appearance of the season as Chicago has opted for an opener a few times given Burke tends to struggle through the first when he starts. As much as I tend to hate the “opener” idea, the numbers back up Will Venable’s decision as Burke’s stats are stronger as a reliever than as a starter.
Entering the game out of the bullpen, Burke has posted a 1.80 ERA and a .174 opponent batting average while walking less batters – 6.5% walk rate vs 9.3% – and striking them out at a higher rate: 28.3% K% compared to 22.4% as a starter. To be fair, he has thrown 56 frames to start a game while having an opener for 25 innings, but his first inning 6.55 ERA and 1.45 WHIP are the highest against the rest of his inning splits. He last started a game against the Dodgers a couple of weeks ago and allowed four earned with two bombs, five walks, and six strikeouts, but the game before that, he did have an opener but still gave up three with two homers and five walks. Baseball can be a weird game.
The good news for Burke is that the Guardians team batting average against right-handed pitching ranks 28th in baseball, with just a .685 OPS, the fifth-worst in the league. Despite that, rookie second baseman Travis Bazzana has been excellent all season for Cleveland, slashing .274/.373/.469 and amounting to an .842 OPS. He has also been on a heater for the last seven days and in 21 at-bats, Bazzana’s 1.577 OPS is the third-best in MLB and he trails only Yandy Díaz with a .577 on-base percentage, even reaching base three times Monday and scoring twice against the South Siders. Bazzana will hold down the leadoff spot for the Guardians, but Burke will need to be ready for additional batting threats in Kyle Manzardo and Brayan Rocchio, with the latter knocking three hits last night.
Cleveland Guardians Lineup
With lefthander Parker Messick on the mound for the Guardians, the South Siders are rolling with a righty-heavy lineup for Tuesday’s matchup. Messick has been one of the top pitchers in the league pretty much since he was called up last season, and ranks third in the American League (ninth in MLB) with a 2.70 ERA in his 86 2/3 innings. Thankfully for the Good Guys, they rank fourth in MLB with a .764 OPS against left-handed pitching while leading all of baseball with 37 home runs. With that, Miguel Vargas will lead off while still holding down first base, and though Chase Meidroth is usually the go-to in the leadoff spot, he will be batting third behind our right-handed DH king: Randal Grichuk. Yesterday, Grichuk mashed his eighth bomb and third pinch-hit homer of the season, and his .858 OPS on the year definitely gives the Sox some power to round out the lineup.
Kyle Teel will get some rest after his first game back in the majors, with Drew Romo taking over behind the plate. Tristan Peters will also have the day off as Junior Perez platoons into center with the left-handed matchup.
Chicago White Sox Lineup
It is once again a beautiful night for some baseball, and ideally we see a much better night from the bullpen … unless Burke wants to go ahead and toss a complete game, that would be fine too. Game time temperature will be right around 70º with sunny skies, and first pitch will take place at 6:40 p.m. CT on the South Side. Tune into the TV broadcast on CHSN or listen in on the radio at ESPN Chicago AM 1000. How about a series win?
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