Gamethread: White Sox at Mariners

The White Sox (30-41) look to bounce back from last night’s disappointing loss against the Mariners (34-34) — which seems to be a habit at this point. The good news is we have an exciting pitching matchup on the mound this afternoon, with Lucas Giolito facing off against Logan Gilbert in his 15th start of the year. The weather is beautiful, the vibes are good, and it certainly is Gio Day, baby!

Giolito has been up and down throughout the year so far, but has been mostly reliable, if not the South Siders’ best starting pitcher this year. He has a 122 ERA+ in 2023 (3.54 ERA), and for those that aren’t as familiar with ERA+, it is the Adjusted Earned Run Average, and accounts for additional factors such as ballpark effects, opponents, etc. Basically, if you’re better than 100, you’re above average. For reference, Gio’s best year was arguably 2019, and he posted a 134 ERA+ that year, the highest in his career. In 2023, Giolito has not been as strong pitching away from Chicago (4.78 ERA), but he still is able to strike out batters 24.9% of the time.

Giolito could face some trouble with hot hitters Ty France and Jared Kelenic — who sit at the top of the Seattle lineup in terms of OPS. And don’t overlook Teoscar Hernández, batting .361 over his last 10 games — including three bombs and eight RBIs. Lucas runs with a four-pitch arsenal, and his changeup can fool batters if they aren’t ready for it. He definitely relies mostly on the fastball, but let’s hope he’s able to trick Seattle hitters with some nasty pitches.

Logan Gilbert is having a similar year, striking out three fewer batters than Giolito, and walking just 13 to Gio’s 25. Gilbert has also given up two fewer homers than Lucas, though his ERA is at 4.38 on the year with a 90 ERA+, not quite matching up to Giolito. Luis Robert Jr., Jake Burger, and Yasmani Grandal have been hot hitters for Chicago, with Luis leading the team in homers (17), while Grandal has gone 10-for-34 over his last 10, a near-.300 BA. Ideally the South Siders can put some hard hits together and find some gaps to knock Gilbert out early.

The White Sox are not opting to wear Negro League jerseys (presumably, the Chicago American Giants) for Seattle’s celebration today. What a shame.

Back to our normally-scheduled programming on ESPN-AM 1000, and NBC Sports Chicago. Let’s get the W today!