Gamethread: Red Sox at White Sox

Happy Sunday! Today is a sports-filled day, and what could be better than Chicago White Sox baseball in the afternoon and Chicago Bears football at night? The South Siders will face off against the Boston Red Sox in the third and final game of this series, as they look to reduce their magic number to 10 games.

Lance Lynn is back. Today, he will pitch his first game since coming off of the IL due to knee inflammation. His last start was on August 28 against the Chicago Cubs, where he went five innings with seven hits, seven runs, and seven strikeouts. It was during that start that Lynn realized something may be off, and it’s to better safe than sorry, which landed him on the IL. Now, he’s returned and is looking to bounce back after the rough start. He currently has a 10-4 record, which a 2.59 ERA and 1.08 WHIP. Pitchers tend to watch out for his most used pitch, his cutter, which he throws 41.7% of the time. He also generates a 25.7 whiff% from that pitch. We will see how he throws against a very good team in the Red Sox today to know if he’s back on track.

Originally, we were supposed to see one of the best matchups of the year, and a homecoming for Chris Sale, but he was scratched prior to the series and placed on the COVID-19 IL. Instead, we will see righty Nick Pivetta, who has a 9-7 record, 4.67 ERA, and 1.34 WHIP. Pivetta has pitched in 26 games this year, and tends to fill whichever role his team puts him in, whether as starter or bullpen arm. His last outing was against the Tampa Bay Rays, where he went five innings with six hits, four earned runs, and six strikeouts. In a crucial game for the Red Sox and their wild card race, he hopes to bring his best performance to shut down the White Sox offense, but that might be hard.

Luis Robert will lead it off again, following his four-hit night last night. Yoán Moncada will be at third base, followed by José Abreu as the DH. Eloy Jiménez is in left field, as Yasmani Grandal and his hot bat get the day at first base. Leury García will play shortstop, and Gavin Sheets will take right field. César Hernández is back at second base and Seby Zavala will be behind the plate. Andrew Vaughn gets another day off, as he is dealing with leg soreness.

Game time is at 1:10 p.m. CT on NBCSCHI. Listen in at ESPN 1000, and get ready for a great game!