CHICAGO WHITE SOX NOTES:
WHITE SOX AT A GLANCE
The Chicago White Sox have lost nine of the last 12 games, 14 of 19, 26 of 37 and 38 of 55 as they continue their final trip of the season tonight with the series opener at Boston. RHP Touki Toussaint is scheduled to start for the White Sox, who are a season-high 37 games under the .500 mark for the first time since the end of the 2018 season (62-100) … the Sox need to win five of their final nine games to avoid 100 losses. The White Sox opened the trip losing two of three at Washington, including a 13-3 defeat in Wednesday’s deciding game. Following this weekend’s at Fenway Park, Chicago will finish the 2023 regular season with a six-game homestand vs. National League West teams Arizona (9/25-27) and San Diego (9/29-10/1). The Sox went 2-5 on their last homestand from 9/11-17 vs. Kansas City (1-2) and Minnesota (1-3) and 2-4 on the last trip from 9/4-10 at the Royals (1-2) and Detroit (1-2).
TONIGHT’S STORYLINES
The White Sox have not won a series since 8/7-9 vs. the Yankees, or a road series since 8/4-6 at Cleveland. Sox starters own a 2.00 ERA (6 ER/27.0 IP), .188 (17-92) opp. average and 25 strikeouts over the last five games … starters have allowed one run four times, and recorded three QS. Chicago is 5-2 in its last seven games at Fenway Park … five of the seven games have been decided by three runs or less. Touki Toussaint has allowed three earned runs or less in four of his last five starts, including 25 strikeouts over 22.1 IP. Tim Anderson is 16-38 (.421) with a double, RBI and three multi-hit eff ort during his 10-game hitting streak. Yoán Moncada has reached safely in 25 of his last 27 games with a plate appearance, batting .330/.368/.550 (33-100) with five homers, 18 RBI, six walks, eight multi-hit eff orts and a .918 OPS. Andrew Vaughn is 12-39 (.308) with three doubles, a homer and fi ve RBI in his last 10 games (hit safely in eight contests).
TODAY’S ROSTER MOVES
The White placed RHP Michael Kopech on the 15-day injured list with right knee inflammation and recalled RHP Yohan RamÃrez from Class AAA Charlotte. Kopech underwent successful surgery this morning to remove a cyst from his right knee (expected recovery is 6-8 weeks). RamÃrez, who was claimed off waivers from Pittsburgh on 9/5, has made four relief appearances with Charlotte.
LONG BALL LUIS
Luis Robert Jr. on Tuesday extended his career high and club record for a center fielder with his 37th home run of the season. He is just the 11th Sox (17th time) to hit 37-plus home runs in a season, and the first since 3B Todd Frazier hit 40 in 2016. Robert Jr. is on pace for 39 home runs, just shy of reaching the Top 10 in single-season homers in White Sox history.
WHITE SOX VS. BOSTON RED SOX
The White Sox lead the season series after winning two of three from 6/23-25 at Guaranteed Rate Field. The White Sox are hitting .258/.291/.485 with six homers, own a 2.00 ERA (6 ER/27.0 IP) and a 10-8 edge in runs scored. Chicago won the 2022 series, 4-2, recording a sweep from 5/6-8 at Fenway Park before losing two of three at home from 5/24-26. The Sox have won five of the last six games since 4/18/21 and six of eight since 6/26/19 at Fenway Park. The White Sox have won five of the last seven season series since 2015 but are 25-26 during that span.
STARTING PITCHER – #47 TOUKI TOUSSAINT RHP
TOUSSAINT AT A GLANCE
Is scheduled to make his 15th start (19th appearance) of the season and seventh (ninth) on the road. Owns a 4-6 record with a 5.42 ERA (44 ER/73.0 IP), .221 (58-263) opponents average, 47 walks and 77 strikeouts with the White Sox in 2023. Is 1-3 with a 5.20 ERA (21 ER/36.1 IP) over eight road games (six starts) this season. Has worked at least 5.0 IP in nine of his last 14 games (12 starts) … has struck out 66 during that span. Is limiting left-handed hitters to a .207/.353/.345 (30- 145) slash line with 30 walks and 34 strikeouts this year. Has limited right-handers to a .226/.338/.365 (117-509) career slash line, while lefties have hit .235/.386/.425 (93-395) against him. Opponents are batting .246/.394/.377 (17-69) with RISP and .133/.366/.167 (4-30) with RISP/two outs in 2023. Was claimed off waivers by the White Sox on 6/20 after being designated for assignment by Cleveland on 6/17. Made his major-league debut with Atlanta on 8/13/18 vs. Miami, allowing one run on two hits over 6.0 IP. Was originally selected by Arizona in the first round (16th overall) of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft.
LAST START
Earned the win on 9/16 vs. Minnesota, allowing just one run on three hits with one walk and eight strikeouts over 5.0 IP … struck out eight-plus batters for the third time this season … held the Twins scoreless after allowing one run in the first inning. Retired 11 straight batters from the first-fifth, including striking out the side in the third … exited the game in the sixth inning with the White Sox leading, 5-1. Owned a 55.6 first-strike percentage and 17.6 swinging-strike percentage (fourteen swing and misses) vs. 18 batters … threw 74 pitches (49 strikes) with the following pitch breakdown: 29 splitters (87.6 mph avg; 90.8 mph max), 24 curveballs (76.0 avg; 78.0 max), 11 four-seam fastballs (93.0 avg; 94.7 max) and 10 sinkers (92.9 avg; 93.8 max).
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Is 1-3 with a 5.20 ERA (21 ER/36.1 IP), .192 (24-125) opponents average, 31 walks and 35 strikeouts on the road this year. Owns a 1.73 HR/9.0 IP (7 HR/36.1 IP) on the road this season … has not allowed a home run in three of his eight road outings this year. Is 4-6 with a 5.82 ERA (72 ER/ 111.1 IP), .235 (96-409) opponents average, 75 walks and 116 strikeouts lifetime on the road.
START YOUR ENGINES
Will be making his 38th career start and 15th this year (14th with Chicago). Has gone 9-14 with a 5.63 ERA (106 ER/ 169.1 IP), .235 (147-625) opponents average, 102 walks and 180 strikeouts in his 37 career starts (six quality), compared to a 5-0 record with a 4.75 ERA (41 ER/77.2 IP) in 38 career relief appearances. Is 4-7 with a 6.05 ERA (43 ER/64.0 IP) in his 14 starts this year.
START STRONG
Is holding batters to a .203/.388/.297 (13-64) slash line in his first IP this year. Is limiting opponents to a .197/.337/.344 (95-483) slash line the first time through the order lifetime.
STAYING GROUNDED
Owns a 49.5 ground ball percentage, 12th-best among American League pitchers (minimum 75.0 IP). His 2.02 ground ball to fly ball ratio ranks fifth among A.L. pitchers (minimum 75.0 IP)
WALK IT OUT
Is averaging 6.10 walks per 9.0 IP (52 BB/76.2 IP) this year, the second-highest among MLB pitchers (minimum 75.0 IP). Has walked at least one batter in 17 of his 18 appearances and four-plus in eight this year.
VS. BOSTON RED SOX || A.L. EAST
Is scheduled to make his second career start vs. Boston. Suffered the loss on 9/2/18 vs. Boston with Atlanta after allowing three runs on four hits with two walks and six strikeouts over 4.2 IP. Has gone 1-4 with a 7.45 ERA (32 ER/38.2 IP), .265 (40-151) opponents average, 21 walks and 46 strikeouts in 10 career appearances (six starts) against the American League East.
BOSTON RED SOX NOTES:
STATE OF THE SOX: The Red Sox have lost 6 of their last 7 games, 8 of their last 10, and 12 of their last 15…They went 1-5 on their 6-game road trip (0-3 at TOR, 1-2 at TEX). The Sox are 19-31 in their last 50 games since 7/29. At 75-78, Boston is a season-high-tying 3 games under
.500 for the 1st time since 4/13 (5-8).
HOME COOKING: Tonight begins the Red Sox’ final homestand of 2023, hosting CWS (3 games) and TB (2). At home, the Red Sox lead the majors in AVG (.282)…They also rank 3rd in OBP (.348) and OPS (.807), and 4th in SLG (.459). BOS is 8-15 in 23 home games since the start of August.
ON THE OFFENSIVE: The Red Sox lead MLB in doubles (326)…Among AL teams, they rank 2nd in AVG (.261) and XBH (522), 4th in SLG (.431) and OPS (.758), and 5th in OBP (.327). BOS has 3 players in the AL’s top 15 in OPS, and 4 in the top 25 in AVG and OBP (see box on right).
RED SOX OFFENSE BY DATE
Dates G W-L AVG OPS R/G
3/30-5/6 35 21-14 .273 .800 5.9
5/7-6/13 33 12-21 .243 .704 3.8
6/14-7/27 34 22-12 .281 .803 5.4
7/28-8/12 15 6-9 .231 .668 3.3
8/13-9/5 22 11-11 .275 .814 6.0
9/6-pres. 14 3-11 .235 .669 3.8
SERIES BUSINESS: The Red Sox lost their 3-game series at TEX to fall to 23-23-3 in series play. The Sox have lost a season-high 5 consecutive series, their longest streak since 4/19-5/8/2022 (6 series). Boston is 13-11-0 in home series (10-12-3 on the road). They’ve surpassed their 2022 series win total (22-24-6).
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE: The current 3-game series vs. CWS is the Sox’ final series of the season against a sub-.500 team…They’ll finish the schedule against the 2 clubs with the best records in the AL: TB (94-60, .610) and BAL (95-58, .621). The Red Sox have played 29 of their last 32 games against teams that are currently above .500…They’re 10-19 in those 29 games, including 5-17 in their last 22. BOS is 47-50 against teams with a current record of .500 or better, and 28-28 against teams below .500. The Sox have played 97 games against teams with a winning record, most in MLB…The only other teams with as many as 90 such games are OAK (92) and SD (91).
ON THE MEND: Zack Kelly, Kaleb Ort, and Joely Rodriguez are currently on rehab assignments with Triple-A Worcester. Kelly allowed 2 runs in 0.1 innings on Wednesday at Lehigh Valley (15 pitches)…He’s tossed 6.0 innings over 7 outings with Single-A Salem (2), High-A Greenville (1), Double-A Portland (1), and Worcester (3). Rodriguez went 0.2 innings in his 1st rehab appearance Tuesday at Lehigh Valley…He faced four batters and allowed 1 run on 2 hits (20 pitches). Ort retired one of his three batters faced on Tuesday at Lehigh Valley (0.1 IP, H, BB, SO, 16 pitches)…It was his 2nd rehab outing for Worcester after tossing a scoreless inning Saturday vs. Syracuse (SO, 18 pitches).
THE INCREDIBLE HOUCK: Tanner Houck is the Red Sox’ nominee for the 2023 Roberto Clemente Award, recognizing the player who best represents the game of baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy, and positive contributions both on and off the field.
He will be honored in pregame ceremonies tonight, celebrating the 21st annual Roberto Clemente Day. PAIR OF SOX: The Red Sox and White Sox will meet for the 1st time since 6/23-25 at Guaranteed Rate Field, where Chicago won a 3-game series, 2-1. The Red Sox are 6-10 against the White Sox since the start of 2021, but 20-17 against them from 2017-23.
GRAND CENTRAL: The Red Sox are 4-0-0 in home series against AL Central teams, going 9-4 in those games. The last season in which the Red Sox won each of their home series against the 5 AL Central teams was 2009. The Sox have won or split each of their last 7 home series vs. AL Central teams (6-0-1)…Their last loss was a 3-game sweep by these White Sox from 5/6-8/2022. Boston is 6-2-1 overall this season in series against AL Central opponents, winning each of its last 3 such series.
FOREVER AND DEVERS: Rafael Devers was named AL Player of the Week on Monday…It is the 2nd time in his career he’s won the award (also 8/19/19), and 4th time this season a Red Sox player has earned the honors (also Duvall, 4/3 & 8/28, and Yoshida, 5/8). In 10 games since 9/11, Devers has hit .345 (10-for-29) with a .759 SLG, 1.284 OPS, 4 HR, 7 runs, 5 RBI, and 9 walks…He leads qualified AL players over that span in OBP (.525), SLG, and OPS, and is tied for 2nd in HR and BB. Devers has hit 172 career HR, tied with Jim Rice for most by a Red Sox player prior to turning 27.
REDTURN2: Justin Turner ranks T-6th in the AL with a career-high 95 RBI, 5 shy of his first career 100-RBI season. If Turner reaches 100 RBI, he’ll become the oldest player in MLB history to record their 1st career 100-RBI season. Turner is 38 years, 303 days old…The current oldest
player to record his 1st career 100-RBI season is Tony Gwynn in 1997 (37 years, 142 days old)(source: Elias).
MARTY PARTY: Chris Martin leads MLB (min. 30.0 IP) with a 1.07 ERA (6 ER/50.1 IP)…The last Red Sox pitchers to finish a season with at least 50.0 IP and an ERA below 1.10 were Koji Uehara (1.09 in 2013) and Jonathan Papelbon (0.92 in 2006). Martin has not allowed a run in a career-long 19 straight appearances (18.0 IP)…It is the 3rd-longest active scoreless streak by IP among relievers. The last Red Sox pitcher to go more than 19 straight appearances in a single season without allowing a run was Josh Taylor from 4/30-7/5/21 (26 games, 21.2 IP). Martin has allowed only 1 run in his last 36 outings since 6/9 (32.2 IP, 0.28 ERA).
START ME UP: Red Sox starting pitchers have allowed 3 runs or fewer in 9 of the last 10 games, posting a 4.10 ERA (22 ER/48.1 IP) with 11.92 SO/9.0 IP (64 SO) in that span. Boston’s starters have gone at least 6.0 innings in 5 of their last 8 starts, including a season-high-tying
4-game streak of starts with 6.0+ IP from 9/15-18. The Sox are 33-14 when their starter goes at least 6.0 innings, including 15-5 in their last 20 games since 6/30.
NO FLY ZONE: Boston ranks 2nd in the AL and 4th in MLB in outfield assists this season (29)…Since the start of 2021, the Sox lead the Majors with 94. Alex Verdugo leads the team and ranks T-3rd in MLB with 12 OF assists…Since he joined BOS in 2020, he ranks T-2nd in MLB with 36, behind only Adolis GarcÃa (37).
TONIGHT’S STARTER: 41 CHRIS SALE – LHP
W-L ERA G GS IP ER HR BB SO WHIP AVG
2023 6-4 4.66 18 18 92.2 48 14 27 116 1.17 .231
CAREER 120-79 3.12 341 261 1770.2 613 192 414 2180 1.05 .220
The Red Sox are 11-7 in his starts (9-3 in first 12, 2-4 in last 6). In 7 starts since returning from the IL on 8/11, owns a 4.81 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, and .208 opponent AVG (33.2 IP, 18 ER, 26 H, 45 SO, 12 BB). Saturday marked his 81st career 10-strikeout game, his 46th with the Red Sox. Made his MLB debut 60 days after being selected 13th overall by the White Sox in 2010…Pitched exclusively in relief for CWS from 2010-11. In 4 starts vs. the White Sox, is 2-1 with a 3.96 ERA (25.0 IP, 11 ER, 5 BB, 39 SO)…Last faced them on 6/26/19. Has struck out 10+ batters and thrown 6.0+ innings in each of his last 3 starts vs. CWS (9 SO in 5.0 IP in his other start vs. CWS).
