The White Sox are staring down their first road sweep of the year, with an 11:35 a.m. CT breakfast special in Baltimore. They’ve already bagged their first road series win since the Padres in early May, and now the South Siders have a shot to roll into Cleveland with some road win momentum.
Noah Schultz, fresh off the injured list (right knee patellar tendinitis, if you’re keeping score), gets the nod. He tossed three rehab starts in Charlotte, posting a 4.00 ERA and 1.33 WHIP. He had some pop last time out, allowing two runs on three hits, with seven punchouts in 4 2/3 innings. Before the knee went sideways, Schultz was 2-4 with a 5.82 ERA in 38 2/3 innings. The fastball still hums at 95 mph, the pedigree is real, but command has still been a struggle. Big leaguers have been happy to watch him miss, and the walks pile up. The plan today is not rocket science. He needs to get ahead, fill the zone, and let the slider eat once he’s in control. If Schultz can actually throw strike one and keep the freebies to a minimum, the Sox might just finish the job.
Baltimore throws Dean Kremer at Chicago, making his first big league start since April 18 after a two-month right quad strain vacation. He carved up Triple-A Norfolk in rehab (1.83 ERA, 0.86 WHIP) and has been a sneaky steady arm for the O’s since coming over in the Manny Machado deal. Kremer isn’t going to blow anyone away as he lives on command, not gas. He doesn’t rack up strikeouts, but he fills the zone, gets chases with his offspeed, and keeps barrels quiet. For the South Siders, patience is the whole game. Don’t go fishing for his junk, make him throw the heater for strikes, and jump on mistakes. If they can lay off the soft stuff and wait for something hittable, they’ll have a shot against a guy who wins with location, not velocity.
Chicago’s offense has found its rhythm of late. Six wins in eight games, 17 runs in two nights, and everyone’s chipping in. Jacob Gonzalez just put up back-to-back three-RBI games, and Andrew Benintendi is finally alive with three hits on Tuesday. Still not a great value at $75 million, but he seems to be having fun and providing some solid veteran leadership in the dugout. If the bats can keep this up this afternoon, maybe, just maybe, they can finish off their first road sweep of the year. So, here’s how skipper Will Venable will send them out to try to do just that against Kremer.
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And for the O’s.
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First pitch is 11:35 a.m. CT. Watch on CHSN or catch the call on ESPN Chicago AM 1000.
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