After a series win over the Detroit Tigers, the Chicago White Sox head into a three-game set with the Kansas City Royals, and Tuesday’s opener brings a lineup that mixes the hot bats with a few surprising placements.
Chicago’s order against a left-hander starts with Miguel Vargas at third base. He’s been locked in over his last seven games, hitting .348/.500/.783 with three home runs, and this will be just his 12th start of the season in the leadoff spot. Tommy Pham follows as the designated hitter, with Randal Grichuk batting third and playing left field.
Grichuk’s spot stands out against a southpaw, especially with his recent tear. Over his last 30 games, he’s slashing .338/.355/.648 with four home runs. Pham, meanwhile, has gone 3-for-10 with a homer since joining the White Sox.
Munetaka Murakami is in the cleanup spot, though the contact issues have been real lately. He has 14 strikeouts in his last 22 at-bats, even while driving in two runs over his last two games. Chase Meidroth hits fifth after going deep for his 15th home run on Sunday and has hit .286/.333/.464 in his last seven games.
The bottom half of the White Sox lineup includes Kyle Teel, who drops after a rough stretch at the plate. In his last seven games, he’s hit .100/.357/.150 with 10 strikeouts in 20 at-bats.
Brenton Doyle, who has handled Tristan Peters’ absence well, is batting .364/.364/.500 over his last seven games. Colson Montgomery and Braden Montgomery round out the order.
Chicago’s lineup for Tuesday: Miguel Vargas, 3B; Tommy Pham, DH; Randal Grichuk, LF; Munetaka Murakami, 1B; Chase Meidroth, 2B; Kyle Teel, C; Brenton Doyle, CF; Colson Montgomery, SS; Braden Montgomery, RF.
Kansas City counters with Carter Jensen behind the plate, Bobby Witt Jr. at shortstop, Jac Caglianone in right field, Maikel Garcia at third, Vinnie Pasquantino at first, Salvador Perez as the DH, Michael Massey at second, Nick Loftin in left and Kyle Isbel in center.
The game is set for Kauffman Stadium at 6:40 CT and will be shown on CHSN, with ESPN Chicago WMVP 1000 AM carrying the radio broadcast.
On the mound, Anthony Kay has been struggling to give the White Sox length. In his last seven starts, he’s 0-4 with a 6.00 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 33 innings.
Will Venable has been pulling him early even when he’s throwing well, and Kay hasn’t completed five innings since August 20. In his most recent outing against the Cleveland Guardians, he threw four shutout innings.
Daniel Lynch brings a 3.29 ERA across 54 appearances, including eight starts, with 52 strikeouts in 76.2 innings. Since moving into the rotation after the trade deadline, he has a 4.66 ERA in his last seven starts. That makes early offense important for Chicago, since Lynch likely won’t be asked to work deep into the game.
In Other News...
White Sox Face A Real Playoff Roster Debate Over Acuna
As the White Sox chase both the AL Central lead and a postseason berth, Luisangel Acuna has become one of the more interesting roster questions on the board. The young outfielder and shortstop has not given the club much at the plate this season, with a .227/.260/.261 slash line and a .522 OPS, but his profile still carries a skill set Chicago cannot ignore when games tighten up.
Acunas speed is the obvious counterweight to the offensive numbers, since he ranks in the 98th percentile for sprint speed and could offer value as a late-game baserunner in October-style situations. For a team trying to balance present production with roster versatility, the debate is less about whether he has tools and more about how much those tools matter if the White Sox get into a short series and every bench spot starts to count. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Still Have One Bullpen Trust Issue Before October
The White Sox brought in Huascar Brazoban at the trade deadline to give their bullpen a needed jolt heading into October, but the first month after the move did not exactly settle any nerves. Before the injury, he was fighting through control issues and had put up a 6.30 ERA with Chicago, making it hard to know what kind of late-inning help the club was actually getting from the former Met.
Brazoban has now returned from a left lat strain and logged a scoreless inning in his latest appearance, which at least gives the White Sox something to build on as the postseason nears. Still, the larger question remains the same: whether he can be trusted when the games tighten up and the margin for error gets thin. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Enter A Final Week That Could Change Everything
The final week has arrived with the standings still packed tight enough to keep the White Sox on edge, and the broader playoff picture only adds to the tension. In the National League, the main field is largely settled, while in the American League the Rangers are hanging onto the West by a game and the Guardians are just ahead of Chicago in the Central.
For the White Sox, the more important race is the one they are trying to hold onto themselves. They sit in the final wild-card spot, with Houston, Toronto and Baltimore all close enough to make every result matter, and the tiebreakers hanging over the bracket only sharpen the stakes. It is the kind of last week that can change not just a seeding line, but the entire shape of October. [Read more 🡒]