The new plan for the White Sox is to boost their offensive output while maintaining their status as a top pitching staff. After spending a couple of weeks failing to put up much in the way of runs, they are looking Wednesday to bring themselves up to a full week of scoring four or more. The 10 they scored Tuesday night represent a season high, and early-year sample size fluctuation took that output and pushed them up to 13th on the league’s wRC+ list. It’s better for everybody if the best record in the American League doesn’t also have the worst offense. A win today would represent a sweep, and would be the first time the Blue Jays have been swept at home since 2013.
The offensive surge isn’t something Jose Quintana is used to pitching in front of. The White Sox scored five runs in his last start, but he took it upon himself to allow zero to the Rangers anyway. Quintana is the second Sox pitcher to appear in the top 25 for cFIP in all of baseball and currently has the best FIP in the AL thanks in large part to his stinginess with free passes.
Marco Estrada is making his fourth start of the season, and he’s only allowed one home run thus far – impressive given that his other three starts have occurred in Toronto, Boston, and Baltimore. He’s been striking out a ton of hitters, much more than has been his practice in the past. His cutter usage has also increased for the season, a pitch that he’s getting a 13.33 percent whiff rate on, which represents a jump from the 4.20 percent he got with it last season.
White Sox Lineup:
- Adam Eaton – RF
- Jimmy Rollins – SS
- Jose Abreu – 1B
- Todd Frazier – 3B
- Melky Cabrera – LF
- Brett Lawrie – 2B
- Avisail Garcia – DH
- Dioner Navarro – C
- Austin Jackson – CF
Blue Jays Lineup:
- Michael Saunders – LF
- Josh Donaldson – DH
- Jose Bautista – RF
- Edwin Encarnacion – 1B
- Troy Tulowitzki – SS
- Matt Dominguez – 3B
- Russel Martin – C
- Kevin Pillar – CF
- Ryan Goins – 2B
Lead Photo Credit: Dan Hamilton – USA Today Sports Images