Chicago starting pitcher Aaron Civale may have struggled in his first few starts after joining the White Sox, but that’s a distant memory now.
Civale will look to continue his impressive run when the White Sox begin a three-game series against the visiting Cleveland Guardians on Friday.
Cleveland has won seven of its past eight games to pull within 1 1/2 games back of the third AL wild-card spot. The Guardians were off on Thursday after completing a three-game sweep of the New York Mets on Wednesday.
Chicago was swept in three games by the host Seattle Mariners to start the week and has lost four in a row overall. The White Sox went 1-for-17 with runners in scoring position in an 11-inning, 4-3 loss on Thursday.
White Sox center fielder Luis Robert Jr. went 3-for-4 in the defeat and is batting .377 with four homers, 14 RBIs and nine stolen bases since July 11. Robert has reached base safely in 23 straight games.
“When he stayed here post-(trade) deadline, there was kind of a sigh of relief from everybody,” White Sox pitcher Davis Martin said. “Because he is the heartbeat of our outfield, of our defense, of our lineup.”
The White Sox face a tough matchup against Civale, who is settling in nicely with his new team after being traded from the Milwaukee Brewers for Andrew Vaughn on June 13. In his past three starts, Civale (3-6, 3.99 ERA) has allowed seven hits with no earned runs across 17 1/3 innings.
The 30-year-old right-hander tossed 6 1/3 scoreless innings while permitting one hit, walking two and striking out eight in a 1-0 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday.
“Total control,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “Got a lot of swing-and-miss on the curveball. The fastball was good, the cutter. He was just in total control. Did a great job, outstanding.”
Carlos Santana is 1-for-15 against Civale, who is 1-0 with a 3.24 ERA in three career starts vs. Cleveland. He had a no-decision against the Guardians on July 13 after allowing four runs in 5 2/3 innings.
The Guardians will counter with Tanner Bibee (7-9, 4.51 ERA) in the series opener. The 26-year-old right-hander received a no-decision after giving up four runs over 4 2/3 innings against the Minnesota Twins on Saturday.
Bibee is 2-0 with a 5.40 ERA across 16 2/3 innings over three career starts vs. the White Sox. He beat Chicago on July 12 after throwing 5 2/3 innings of two-run ball.
The Guardians’ bullpen will be rested after Gavin Williams came within two outs from a no-hitter in a 4-1 win over the Mets on Wednesday.
Cleveland’s offense also delivered, amassing a total of 22 hits and 14 runs during the three-game sweep.
“I’m just proud of the way our players played this week,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “Our team shows up and wants to win every day. It’s not easy to come to New York and win three games.”
The White Sox will be without Chase Meidroth this weekend after the rookie infielder was placed on the 10-day injured list on Thursday due to a right thumb contusion. Meidroth had made just one substitute appearance since being hit by a pitch on July 30.
“Obviously I want to play,” Meidroth said. “It’s frustrating as heck. Trying to push through it, but it was not going as fast as I wanted it to. We’ll take it day-by-day and give it a go again next week.”
–Field Level Media
