Game Thread: White Sox at Reds

Jonathan Cannon will lead the South Siders as they look to carry the weekend’s momentum into Cincinnati

After a delightful series victory at home against the Marlins, the White Sox (12-29) are in Cincinnati (20-22) for the next few games as they attempt to win their second series in a row for the first time this season. The series win was capped off with Tim Elko getting his first MLB hit by blasting a three-run homer that effectively won the game for the South Siders, and hopefully, we get to see a little bit more of his power today!

Earlier today, the Charlotte Knights also announced that shortstop prospect Colson Montgomery had returned to the Triple-A team after a brief stint in Arizona to work on his hitting mechanics. Before heading to Arizona, Montgomery struggled with a .149 batting average and .473 OPS, while also striking out at a rate above 40%. The good news is that in his first at-bat back with the team, he drove an RBI-single to right field in the first, and ended the game 2-for-5 with one strikeout.

Outside of Montgomery’s return, the Knights also announced a slew of moves, inclusive of rehab assignments and roster shifts:

Now, back to the big leagues. The White Sox are planning to go back to their “opener” strategy, so Brandon Eisert is making the start, and Jonathan Cannon will take over after that. Eisert is sitting at a 4.96 ERA in 16 1/3 innings, and Cannon has been mostly solid as well, and so far has a 3.00 ERA in his two May starts. Overall, Cannon has a 4.09 ERA and a 1.455 WHIP in his 44 innings, though he is walking guys a bit too much at an 8.7% walk rate, and could be striking them out at a higher rate (just 16.9% of the time).

The offensive lineup is actually not horrible today, and finally, we are seeing Andrew Vaughn lower in the lineup, allowing Edgar Quero to take over towards the top of the order, and Tim Elko to manage first base. Luis Robert Jr. has shifted into the cleanup position, which isn’t super common for him, but he has the power to hold down that slot.

On the mound for the Reds is lefthander Andrew Abbott, who is making his sixth start of the year after beginning the year on the IL with a shoulder injury. Since he returned from his rehab assignment, Abbott has been great for Cincinnati this season, posting a 2.25 ERA and 1.167 WHIP. He’s racked up quite a few strikeouts thus far (31) and has a very efficient 31.6% strikeout rate — though he, too, is walking batters way too much, a 12.2% walk rate.

Cincinnati’s offense has been having a hard time the last two weeks, slashing .199/.291/.307 with a .598 OPS — second-to-last in the major leagues. TJ Friedl is in the leadoff spot and holds the most hits for the Reds (43), with Santiago Espinal batting second, who has been the best hitter for the Reds the past 15 days, posting a .304 batting average. Elly De La Cruz and his power is another batter that you always have to watch out for. He’s leading the Reds in home runs (six) and is a menace when he’s on the base paths — ranking third in MLB in stolen bases (14).

First pitch will take place at 5:40 p.m. CT, a bit earlier, being in the Eastern time zone. As usual, you can watch the game at CHSN or tune in on the radio at ESPN AM 1000.

Also, we’ve added a new feature to our game coverage! You can chat along with us on Playback. It’s simple, just go to the link, sign up with an email, and we can complain together! Additionally, we hope to plan a live watch party soon, so be on the lookout for details.