Game Thread: Cardinals at White Sox — Postponed

Twice the fun as Thursday will be a straight doubleheader

Tonight’s game has been postponed due to inclement weather. It will be played as a straight doubleheader tomorrow. First pitch at 1:10 p.m. CST.

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Game 1

Well, Sox fans, time flies when you’re having fun because it’s been over a full week since Sean Burke’s last start. After an excellent outing on June 5, when he tossed seven frames, only allowed two runs, and struck out five, last week’s performance on June 11 was downright awful. Skipper Will Venable pulled the righthander after only 3 2⁄3 innings when he surrendered seven runs on eight hits, resulting in a loss to the Houston Astros. The poor outing broke his streak of three straight quality starts.

Honestly, it’s been a tale of two seasons so far for the 25-year-old Burke. He’s either been good or bad with little room in between. Can he get back on track tonight against a middling St. Louis Cardinals squad? After a red-hot May when they went 19-8, they’ve cooled off significantly, going 3-7 over their last ten contests.

The White Sox won’t have an easy path back to winning as they face the Cards’ ace Sonny Gray on the mound this evening. The righty is looking for his eighth win of the year and boasts a 3.84 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. This is the veteran’s second season with St. Louis after signing with them as a free agent in the 2023 offseason. Overall, the 35-year-old has proved to be a reliable arm despite a few outings where he’s struggled with his control, such as his most recent start against the Brewers on June 6, where he allowed six tallies on eight hits over only 4 1⁄3 innings of work. He doesn’t walk a lot of batters, and he has an above-average K-rate of 26.1%, which will likely make it extremely challenging for Chicago to muster up much of anything against Gray.

Unfortunately, the South Side offensive remains excruciatingly painful. Their league-worst .222 club batting average, combined with their inability to drive in runs, doesn’t bode well for winning many games. Here’s how Will Venable will attempt to avoid extending their losing streak to seven straight tonight.

On the other hand, these Cardinal batters can hit! They sport a team BA of .257, which ranks third-best in all of baseball. While they may not hit for a lot of power, they get on base (.328 OBP) and drive in runs, as witnessed in yesterday’s blowout when they notched 12 tallies. That could spell trouble for Burke and the Sox defense. Here’s how the Cards will line up.

You can watch the broadcast on CHSN at 1:10 p.m. CST, now available on Comcast, Fubo, and DIRECTV. Don’t have any of those options? Tune in to Len Kasper and Darin Jackson on the radio call at ESPN 1000.