After taking three out of four against the A’s, the O’s look to continue their winning ways on the south side of Chicago.
The Orioles head into Chi-town tonight looking to bring the same offense and energy seen throughout the Oakland series. After all, who wouldn’t love to see more Adley Rutschman walk-off home runs or have Ryan Mountcastle set franchise RBI records? What the Orioles don’t hope to bring along to Chicago is the pitching performance they put up against Oakland. Giving up 24 runs in four games—against a team expected to be one of the worst in baseball—is never going to sit well with the team or Birdland as a whole. The O’s have already made corresponding pitching staff changes, and tonight is the first time we get to see if those changes make a difference.
The good news, pitching-wise, is that Tyler Wells is back on the mound and away from Camden Yards. The last time Wells donned the Orioles’ road grays, he tossed five no-hit innings against the Rangers in Arlington. While the home debut for Wells didn’t go quite as well, the third-year pitcher has typically been a different animal on the road. Wells sports a 2.85 career ERA away from Baltimore while holding opposing batters to a .199 average. Tonight will be Wells’ second-ever appearance against the White Sox, and his first in Guaranteed Rate Field. In his only other appearance against the Southsiders, Wells pitched two innings of relief, giving up three runs and striking out four.
Getting the start for the White Sox will be the former Guardian and Padre, Mike Clevinger. After spending three injury-riddled years in San Diego, Clevinger seems to be enjoying his return to the AL Central. In his White Sox debut, Clevinger threw five shutout innings against the defending champion Astros, striking out eight. Like Wells, his second start had more mixed results, as he gave up four runs over 5.1 innings in Pittsburgh. This will be Clevinger’s first start in Chicago as a member of the home team—though his record at Guaranteed Rate Field is encouraging for White Sox fans. He boasts a career 3.13 ERA on the south side, with 28 Ks in 23 innings. Clevinger’s numbers against the O’s aren’t quite as good, with a 3.69 ERA, though he does boast a 4-1 record.
One final note: The last time Adley played in a series opener in Chicago, he launched this home run, put up 3 RBIs and the O’s won 4-0. Given Adley’s recent form, perhaps we should expect an even more impressive outburst tonight.
Orioles Lineup
- Cedric Mullins (L) CF
- Adley Rutschman (S) C
- Ryan Mountcastle (R) 1B
- Anthony Santander (S) DH
- Gunnar Henderson (L) SS
- Austin Hays (R) LF
- Adam Frazier (L) 2B
- Ramon Urias (R) 3B
- Terrin Vavra (L) RF
Starting Pitcher: Tyler Wells (0-1, 3.27 ERA, 0.55 WHIP, 11.0 IP)
White Sox Lineup
- Andrew Benintendi (L) LF
- Luis Robert Jr. (R) CF
- Andrew Vaughn (R) 1B
- Eloy Jimenez (R) DH
- Jake Burger (R) 3B
- Yasmani Grandal (S) C
- Lenyn Sosa (R) 2B
- Oscar Colas (L) RF
- Elvis Andrus (R) SS
Starting Pitcher: Mike Clevinger (2-0, 3.48 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, 10.1 IP)