Red Sox vs. White Sox series preview: contrasting franchises

The Boston Red Sox (27-22) begin their 10 game road trip with a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox (23-26).

These teams have contrasting styles as the Red Sox have built their team to “win now”, whereas the White Sox have focused on building for the future.

The Red Sox come into the series hot, winning six games in a row before losing to the Mariners on Sunday. They are currently 3 games back of the Yankees for the division lead. After being swept by the Diamondbacks, the White Sox were able to rebound by taking 3 out of 4 against the Tigers.

Pitching Matchups

Monday, May 29 at 2:10 PM – David Price (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs David Holmberg (0-0, 0.87 ERA)

Tuesday, May 30 at 8:10 PM – Chris Sale (5-2, 2.34 ERA) vs Jose Quintana (2-6, 4.82 ERA)

Wednesday, May 31 at 8:10 PM – Drew Pomeranz (4-3, 4.70 ERA) vs Mike Pelfrey (2-4, 4.41 ERA)

Series Notes

Heading into the series, David Price making his return to the starting rotation has been the big story. The Red Sox seem to have rushed Price back, having him only make 2 rehab starts and some simulated games. His rehab starts did not go well, as he only made it through a combined 5.2 innings and gave up 6 runs. The bright side is that Price was able to strikeout 8 batters in those 5.2 innings.

Chris Sale makes his return to Chicago, where he spent the first 7 years of his career. Since coming over to Boston, Sale has looked unhittable at times and may end up winning the Cy Young award. He currently has career lows in FIP (1.79), WHIP (0.808), and K/9 (12.5). Look for Sale to raise his game even more (if that’s even possible) in his return to Chicago.

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Even though he had a good last outing, Drew Pomeranz continues to be a problem in the rotation. Pomeranz went 6 innings and was able to strike out 11. The problem is that he has not been able to eat innings at all. He averages 4.2 innings per start. The most alarming stat is that he does not even qualify for the ERA title because he does not have enough innings, and he has made 9 starts. Pomeranz needs to feed off of his last start.

The Red Sox and White Sox established some sort of friendship this offseason during the Chris Sale trade. They may end up being trade partners again as the Red Sox were seen scouting White Sox players, especially Jose Quintana. The Sox have been looking for a solution to some of their rotation woes and will have a chance to scout Quintana first hand. They also may take a look at Todd Frazier as part of a buy-low trade to try and fix their 3rd base issues.

Key Hitters

Boston Red Sox: Jackie Bradley Jr.

2017 Season (32 Games): .207/.294/.387, 5 HR, 13 RBI

Career vs Chicago White Sox (18 Games): .185/.343/.259, 1 HR, 6 RBI

JBJ has definitely seen his fair share of struggles at the plate this year. However, he has turned around his game over the last 15 days. He has hit .282, with 3 HR, and 6 RBI, to go along with 8 runs scored. Bradley is historically a streaky hitter, but it is good to see him start to break out of the slump. His power numbers are up, which is important because the Red Sox have not hit that many home runs this season. Look for JBJ to continue to provide some pop in the bottom of the order.

Chicago White Sox: Avisail Garcia

2017 Season (35 Games): .331/.371/.556, 8 HR, 37 RBI

Career vs Red Sox (16 Games): .233/.313/.333, 2 HR, 5 RBI

Garcia has been a quit surprise for the White Sox this season. He was brought up by the Tigers as a 20-year-old, but has not been able to hit consistently at the big level. However, this year has changed. His impressive slash line is shown above, but it has been the power that has been his most impressive feat so far with 10 doubles, 3 triples, and 8 home runs. Look for Garcia to continue to show off his improvement in hitting.

Next: Grading the first 50 games

Check back with BoSox Injection prior to the start of every Red Sox series this season for our preview!

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