Duran
Hamilton
O'Neill
Devers
Masa
Abreu
Smith
Rafaela
McGuire
SOX have 2 advantages in this game, 1)playing on the road and 2)facing a RH. Hopefully, the 4 days off didn't screw up their momentum.
Another starter who may be on the SOX radar is the Angels' lefty Tyler Anderson. He's 33 years old but has an 8-8 record with an ERA of 2.97 and a 1.17 WHIP.
The problem is that half of MLB teams are looking for a starter, so the sellers will be overvaluing their tradable pitching. I'm guessing that the SOX would have to include in the trade one of their top 3 prospects.
Erick Fedde of the White Sox is also obtainable, but he would probably require even more prospects because his bargain contract runs thru 2025.
Pivetta vs Stone(RH)
The symbolic 2nd half of the season starts tonight for the SOX. Based on win %, the SOX have the toughest remaining schedule in MLB.
Starting the 2nd half of the season on the worst coast(baseball speak regarding the SOX) does add to the challenge.
Congrats to Duran for being the All-star MVP.
Go SOX!
Worst case scenario would be that the SOX trade for a middle of the rotation starter and use Criswell for depth.
Maybe not the worst case, but it would be the least they could do.
The SOX FO better make up their mind whether to go after 2 good arms or to protect their precious prospects. They can't do both. It's a shame there's nothing on the farm in the way of starters; that, of course, would make things a little easier.
Losing the 1st game of a 3 game series doesn't seem to hamper the SOX from winning the series. Strange, but then this season, so far, has been strange, in a good way.
I don't know if Duran could have made the throw Rafaela made. Of course, moving Rafaela to CF weakens the SS position defensively, as we've just found out.