The Chicago White Sox will greet the visiting Boston Red Sox on Tuesday with a one-game lead atop the American League Central.
While the White Sox realize they are nowhere near the finish line, they can appreciate the perch in the final week before the All Star-break. Especially on the heels of three straight 100-loss seasons.
“We are in a good spot. It’s exciting and it just shows the kind of growth we are at,” right-hander Davis Martin said. “It doesn’t matter if we are playing bad. We still find a way to find ourselves in every game.
“It’s a great time. We love winning. We do a good job celebrating each other’s successes. We are having fun being ourselves and enjoying it.”
Chicago split a four-game series against the Cleveland Guardians, its closest Central competitor, over the weekend.
A power surge propelled the White Sox to a 7-6 victory in Sunday’s finale. Colson Montgomery and Tristan Peters belted home runs among their two hits while Kyle Teel also went deep.
Red Sox starter Payton Tolle (4-6, 3.39 ERA) will aim to limit the White Sox attack and stop a recent penchant for allowing the long ball.
Pitching against the Washington Nationals on Wednesday, Tolle was unable to build upon his previous start — seven one-hit innings during a 6-1 victory on June 26 against the New York Yankees. Washington reached him for six runs and seven hits — including two homers — in three innings in a home loss.
Tolle figured to adjust the mechanics on his four-seam fastball after finding the Nationals “were ready for it.”
“I think I was also probably just being too fine,” he added, “trying to hit spots rather than just trying to execute pitches and just flying through the zone.”
Boston’s loss to Washington marked a rare recent blip for a club that is jelling under interim manager Chad Tracy. Although the Red Sox still occupy the AL East basement, they’ve won eight of 10 after completing a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Angels to begin a nine-game road trip before the break.
On Sunday, Boston overcame an early injury to All-Star left-hander Ranger Suarez to defeat the host Angels 7-5. Jarren Duran and Willson Contreras homered.
Contreras leads the Red Sox with 20 home runs, a milestone he has reached seven times.
“This year has been good to me,” Contreras said. “Of course, I’ve been doing my homework. I put the work in the cage and my mindset is still there.”
Rookie left-hander Noah Schultz (2-5, 5.86) is set to get the call for the White Sox. Schultz returned from right knee patellar tendinitis on Wednesday at Baltimore but endured the same result as his two previous starts before the injury: he lost.
Schultz has hurt his own cause with control issues and has a WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched) of 1.35.
Against the Orioles, Schultz allowed two runs and three hits in 4 1/3 innings with four walks and seven strikeouts. He has walked 26 batters and hit four with a pitch in 43 total innings.
He has yielded a home run in three consecutive starts and four of the past five. He has allowed five total homers.
Tolle is set to face Chicago for the first time in his career. Schultz has not previously opposed Boston.
–Field Level Media
