The White Sox are fresh off a 21-game losing streak and the firing of their manager, Pedro Grifol. Chicago is on pace to finish with one of the worst records in baseball history and has lost three straight following the snapping of their historic losing streak last Tuesday against Oakland.
Anything short of a sweep for the Yankees would be a disappointment, as the team from the Bronx travels to Chicago for a three-game set. A rain-filled week saw the Yankees forced to play two doubleheaders in four days, turning two favorable matchups into two rollercoaster series vs the Angels and Rangers. The Yankees have gone 5-4 in their last three series, all against teams with losing records.
If the Yankees want to win the AL East, they will have to play better than .500 baseball against some of the bottom feeders of the league. Luckily Juan Soto and Aaron Judge continue to mash. Judge is batting .406 with a 1.308 OPS in 20 games since the All-Star break. Over that span, he has collected 20 RBI and 25 walks, while adding seven dingers to his league-leading 42 home runs.
Soto is putting up a ridiculous season himself, currently sitting with a 1.006 OPS in 2024. Soto has hit 30 home runs and 24 doubles this season, while his 95 walks are second only behind Judge for the league lead. The Yankees’ team ERA has been in the bottom half of the league since the All-Star break, and the White Sox have the second-worst team ERA in the majors this season.
The bats should be ready to go in this one, so let’s look at the probable starting pitchers. Monday: Luis Gil vs. Ky Bush (8:10 pm ET) Luis Gil has found his form again after a rough stretch in late June and early July. Over his last five starts, Gil is pitching to a 1.93 ERA and opponents after batting .196 against him. In those five starts, he has fanned 36 batters in 28 innings of work. Gil continues to lean heavily on his new-grip slider, and pairing it with his high-nineties fastball will always play.
The Yankees right-hander showed resiliency in his last outing, battling rainy conditions to give the Bombers five innings of two-hit baseball. His starts have not been overly clean at times (eight walks in his last two starts), but have provided enough to give the Yankees a chance to win ballgames. Chicago’s No. 17 prospect, Bush made his major league debut last Monday against the A’s.
The young lefty took the loss in Oakland after giving up three runs over four innings. Command became an issue early, as Bush walked the bases loaded in the first and ended his day giving up five walks total and a hit-by-pitch. Bush escaped damaged in the first, but the free passes came back to bite him in the fourth when Max Schuemann singled to drive in two runs.
It was one of only two hits Bush gave up on the day, and he did strike out three in a game where nerves were likely a factor. Tuesday: Nestor Cortes vs. Jonathan Cannon (8:10 pm ET) The Yankees have won only one game in Cortes’ last eight starts. It speaks to the level of inconsistency that Cortes has shown this season and the brutal numbers he has produced recently.
A 9.26 ERA over Nestor’s last five starts is not good enough, with him giving up a whopping 36 hits in 23.1 innings over that stretch. Non-competitive starts from Cortes every time his name is called is not something the Yankees can afford to deal with in the middle of a divisional race. On a historically bad team, you have to look for bright spots, and rookie Jonathan Cannon has been just that for the White Sox.
The young right-hander has pitched at least six innings in each of his last six appearances, pitching to a 3.16 ERA over that span. His most important start of the season came in his previous outing against Oakland when he threw six innings of one-run ball to snap Chicago’s historic 21-game losing streak. Cannon’s bread and butter pitch is his sinker, which he throws 32 percent of the time but does not seem to challenge righties with it inside. Look for the Yankees’ right-handers to take advantage of pitches out over the zone.
Wednesday: TBD (Will Warren) vs. Davis Martin (8:10 pm ET) Friday’s rainout did not change the Yankee’s rotation for their weekend series against Texas but has altered their normal five-day rotation for their series against the White Sox. Currently, the Yankees starter is listed as TBD, but it is likely that Will Warren will slot in for the start on Wednesday. Warren made his major league debut on July 30th against the Phillies, throwing a respectable 5.1 innings and giving up four runs.
Any slight momentum he had from his first start in the bigs was derailed by an eight-hit, eight-run shellacking at the hands of the Angels in his last start. Martin missed nearly all of 2023 after undergoing Tommy John surgery in May of that season. He made his major league debut in 2022, compiling 63.1 innings and a 4.83 ERA across 14 appearances. Martin returned from injury on July 27th against Seattle, giving up one run in 2.2 innings of relief. He has made two starts since then, including a six-inning, two-hit, shutout performance in his last start against Oakland.
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