The Cleveland Guardians take on the Chicago White Sox in what is the first game of this series after the games on both Monday and Tuesday were rained out. These two teams know each other very well with both playing in the AL Central division. Obviously, both teams had yesterday off with the rainout, and I think that benefits both teams honestly. The White Sox get to reset their bullpen, and they now have anyone available to pitch tonight. On the other hand, the Guardians had been playing very well until they were swept at home by the Giants. I think getting a day off will help them breathe and reset.
Shane Bieber has very good history against the White Sox, pitching well against them last season when he was healthy. Bieber made 16 starts in 2021 and somehow 4 of those starts were against the White Sox. He pitched a complete game shutout in the first game, then followed that outing up with two straight quality starts. In his fourth start, he hadn’t allowed a hit through 3 innings before being pulled for load management.
Dallas Keuchel didn’t pitch very well against the Guardians last season, and he didn’t pitch particularly well in his first start this season either. He faced the Guardians three times last season and didn’t pitch a quality start in any of the three games. He allowed 3 ER in 5 IP in his first start then allowed 4 ER in 6 IP in his second start. In his third start, he had his worst performance against the Guardians of the season. He pitched 5.1 innings allowing 5 earned runs.
The Guardians have struggled against lefties their last two times out, but they had been hitting them well before that. They have a couple righties in the middle of their lineup that can break out at any second.The Guardians are ranked 11th in the league in wOBA against lefties while the White Sox are ranked 3rd worst in the league against righties. Honestly, I couldn’t believe that either when I saw it. The White Sox have just a .248 wOBA against right-handed pitchers all season. The Guardians were also 4-5 at home against the White Sox last season and 9-10 overall. The White Sox were just 40-41 on the road last season. I like the Guardians at home.
