- From Rate Field in Chicago, it’s Guardians vs White Sox in a fight for 1st place in the AL Central
- Cleveland sends righty Gavin Williams to the mound
- Chicago starts lefty Anthony Kay
Williams is Emerging into a Top Starter
It’s no secret why Gavin Williams is having such a solid season: he’s cut down on his walks significantly and has increased his strikeout rate. The 6’6″, 250-pound righty is durable and goes deeply into games.
For the season, he’s accrued a 2.6 bWAR and has a 3.56 ERA. In 139 innings, he’s surrendered 106 hits, 55 earned runs, and 21 homers, walking 39 and striking out 178. He should have been an All-Star.
So far, since the MLB trade deadline, the Guardians have struggled, getting swept by the woeful Mets. Newly acquired starting pitcher Foster Griffin struggled against New York. Still, they need to start winning some games, particularly against the team ahead of them, the White Sox.
On offense, Steven Kwan is finally playing up to his capabilities. His average is up to .260, though he only has 1 homer. Rhys Hoskins is batting under .180. Jose Ramirez is simply having a bad year and that was in progress before he broke his hand, batting in the .230s with 10 homers.
Against Anthony Kay, Brayan Rocchio is 2 for 4 with 2 singles. Hoskins is 0 for 5 with a walk. Travis Bazzana is 2 for 5 with 2 singles. Jo Adell is 0 for 2. Austin Hedges is 0 for 2 with a walk.
The Journeyman Kay Has Been Very Good for a Month
Lefty Anthony Kay has bounced around in his career, but he seems to have found a home with the surprising White Sox. In his last 5 starts, he’s thrown 26 innings, allowed 23 hits, and 9 earned runs. In his last start against the Rays, he tossed 6.1 shutout innings against the Rays.
For the season, he has a 1.6 bWAR and a 4.01 ERA. In 110 innings, he’s allowed 107 hits, 49 earned runs, and 14 homers, walking 42 and striking out 90. He leads the majors in hit batsmen with 20.
The ChiSox are still in 1st place and are riding the home run power of Munetaka Murakami, Colson Montgomery, and Miguel Vargas, combining for 73 homers. The rest of their offense has been a sum of their parts situation. Sam Antonacci has a high rate of success for stolen bases. Andrew Benintendi has 12 homers.
For the White Sox against Williams, Vargas is 4 for 8 with a home run. Braden Montgomery is 2 for 4 with a double. Colson Montgomery is 0 for 5 with a walk and 4 K’s. Benintendi is 2 for 8 with a triple. Luisangel Acuña is 1 for 2 with a single.
Guardians vs White Sox Pick
The Guardians have been playing poorly, but the White Sox are not running away with the division. For this matchup, they have the on-paper advantage on the mound because Williams has been so good. But Kay has been very good in his own right. If Williams keeps the ChiSox hitters in the park, the Guardians have a good chance to win. The Guardians don’t hit many home runs and they played all-around bad baseball against the Mets. They cannot continue that trend if they want to catch the White Sox.
But despite their struggles, the Guardians will take this one behind Williams in a close game.
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Pick
Cleveland Guardians -119
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