CHICAGO WHITE SOX NOTES:
WHITE SOX AT A GLANCE
The Chicago White Sox have lost 11 of their last 16 games as they continue a seven-game trip this afternoon with the series finale at Los Angeles-AL.
RHP Lance Lynn is scheduled to start for the White Sox, who are in fourth place in the American League Central, 5.5 games behind division-leading Cleveland.
The Sox recorded an 11-5 victory last night after losing the first two games of this series by a combined three runs.
Following today’s game, the White Sox conclude the trip this weekend with three in Oakland (6/30-7/1) before ending the first half with a six-game homestand vs. Toronto (7/4-6) and St. Louis (7/7-9).
The Sox went 3-3 on their last homestand vs. Texas (1-2) and Boston (2-1) from 6/19-25 and 2-4 on their last trip to Los Angeles-NL (1-2) and Seattle (1-2) from 6/13-18.
TODAY’S STORYLINES
The White Sox today end a stretch of playing seven consecutive series (22 games) from 6/6-29 against teams who are or above .500 (9-12 so far).
Lance Lynn ranks fourth in the American League with a career-high 10.90 strikeouts per 9.0 IP and seventh with 109 strikeouts (23 over his last two starts).
Luis Robert Jr. is hitting .318/.370/.729 (27-85) with 10 home runs, 15 RBI and 17 runs scored in 22 games since 6/4.
The Sox rank second in MLB with a 3.30 ERA (137 ER/374.0 IP) in 42 games since 5/13 … the rotation ranks third in MLB during that span with a 3.43 ERA (86 ER/225.1 IP).
The Sox rank third MLB in June with a 3.23 ERA (77 ER/214.1 IP) but are 26th with a .224 (182-813) average and 27th with 3.50 runs per game (84 runs).
Andrew Benintendi is hitting .383/.420/.489 (18-47) in 11 games since moving into the leadoff slot on 6/17 at Seattle.
LAST NIGHT’S RECAP
Seby Zavala went 3-5 with two home runs and four RBI, and Lucas Giolito threw a season-high tying 7.0 IP as the White Sox recorded an 11-5 victory over the Angels.
Zavala hit solo shots in the second and fifth for his third career multi-homer game (last, 6/6 at New York-AL) and added a two-run single in the ninth as the Sox streak of 23 straight games decided by four runs or less came to an end.
Giolito (4 ER/7.0 IP) earned the victory, allowing four runs with no walks and nine strikeouts … Giolito gave up two runs in the first before holding the Angels scoreless on one hit over the next five innings.
Luis Robert Jr. hit a two-run homer in the first (No. 23), and Eloy Jiménez added a solo homer in the third as the Sox matched their season high with four home runs (fi fth time).
Andrew Vaughn went 3-4 with a three-run double in the fourth, Zach Remillard collected three hits for the second time in 10 career games, and Andrew Benintendi reached base safely four times with two hits, two walks and two runs scored.
The White Sox scored 10-plus runs for the fifth time this season, and the 11 runs, 17 hits and six-run margin of victory were their most since a 12-3 win on 5/26 at Detroit.
ROBERT SHOOTING FOR THE STARS
CF Luis Robert Jr., the reigning American League Player of the Week, is attempting to make his first All-Star Team … the All-Star Game will be played on 7/11 at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park.
Some notable information from Robert’s season to date:
Attempting to become the first Sox CF to make the All-Star Team since Chet Lemon in 1978-79;
Ranks among the AL leaders in home runs (2nd, 23), extra-base hits (2nd, 43), slugging percentage (2nd, .567), total bases (3rd, 170), defensive runs saved (3rd, 9), OPS (4th, .891), runs scored (5th, 54), games played (T6th, 78) and doubles (T11th, 20);
Is hitting .302/.362/.656 (58-192) with 14 doubles, 18 homers, 32 RBI and 40 runs scored in 51 games since 5/1;
Twenty-three home runs are the most by a Sox player in the first half since Todd Frazier (25) in 2016 … on pace to hit 45, which would be second-most in franchise history behind Albert Belle’s 49 in 1998;
Ranks second in MLB with 10 homers in June … is the first Sox player since José Abreu in 8/21 (10) to hit 10-plus homers in a single month;
Is the first Sox player to hit five-plus homers in a five-game span since Abreu hit seven from 8/21-26/20;
Named AL Player of the Week for 6/19-25 (first career weekly honor) after hitting .444/.524/1.111 (8-18) with four home runs, five RBI and six runs scored in six games;
One of five players in Sox history (8x) to record 20-plus doubles and homers before the break, joining Frank Thomas (1993-94, 2003), José Abreu (2014, ’19), Jermaine Dye (2008) and Magglio Ordóñez (2000);
Is hitting .355/.429/.742 (22-62) with six doubles, six home runs and a AL-best 1.171 OPS vs. LHP.
WHITE SOX VS. LOS ANGELES ANGELS
The Angels are 4-2 against the White Sox in 2023 and have clinched their seventh straight season series victory.
The Sox are hitting .287/.335/.507 (60-209) with a 5.50 ERA (32 ER/52.1 IP) and have been outscored, 32-30.
The Angels have won seven straight season series and 11 of the last 12, with the White Sox only win coming in 2015 (4-3).
The Sox 7-26 at Angel Stadium since 5/18/13.
HOW THE WEST WAS WON
The Sox are 7-12 vs. the American League West this season, including a 4-6 record on the road.
The Sox went 18-16 vs. the division last season and 16-17 in 2021 … they are 19-24 on the road vs. the AL West since 2021.
ARMS RACE
White Sox pitchers have recorded a 3.30 ERA (137 ER/374.0 IP) in 42 games since 5/13, the second-best mark in the major leagues … during that span, the Sox lead MLB with a .212 opponents average and rank sixth with a 1.19 WHIP.
A breakdown of the Sox pitching through their fi rst 40 games of the season and last 42:
Games W-L ERA QS IP H R ER HR BB SO AVG OPS WHIP
Last 42 22-20 3.30 18 374.0 293 151 137 45 153 403 .212 .661 1.19
First 40 13-27 5.66 12 351.2 366 241 221 65 167 385 .263 .817 1.52
ROTATION SENSATION
White Sox starting pitchers own a 3.43 ERA with a .226 opponents average in 42 games since 5/13 … during that span, they lead MLB with an average of 10.30 strikeouts per 9.0 IP, rank second in opponents average and third in ERA.
During that 42-game stretch, Sox starters have made eight scoreless outings, have allowed one earned run 10 times and two earned runs nine times … the rotation since 5/13:
W-L ERA WHIP QS IP H R ER HR BB SO SO/9.0 AVG OPS
11-12 3.43 1.24 18 225.1 191 94 86 32 88 258 10.3 .226 .709
GRAB SOME BENCH I
Some notables from Lance Lynn’s 16-strikeout performance last 6/18 at Seattle, which tied Jack Harshman’s 69-year-old franchise record set on 7/25-1/54 at Boston.
16 strikeouts (previous career high was 12) are the most in MLB since Spencer Strider (16) on 9/1/22 vs. Colorado … 33 swings and misses are the most since Jacob deGrom’s 35 on 9/6/20 vs. Philadelphia;
Struck out the side in the fourth and sixth innings and fanned two in his other five full frames for his 25th career game with 10 or more;
Fifth pitcher since 1990 to suffer the loss with 16-plus strikeouts while allowing three earned runs or less … MLB teams with a pitcher striking out 16 or more batters are now 109-27-2 all-time;
16 strikeouts most in a game since 1913 by a pitcher entering the game with a 6.00-plus ERA;
At age 36, oldest pitcher to strike out 16-plus since Arizona’s Randy
Johnson fanned 17 at age 39 on 9/14/02 vs. Milwaukee.
GRAB SOME BENCH II
The White Sox lead the major leagues with an average of 9.77 strikeouts per 9.0 IP (788 SO/725.2 IP) this season, which would be the second-highest total in franchise history behind the 2021 club (10.18).
Sox pitchers have struck out 10-plus batters in 42 of 82 games (51.2 percent), including 15 or more six times (0-6 record).
Lance Lynn (4th, career-high 10.90), Dylan Cease (5th, 10.84), Michael Kopech (7th, 10.15) and Lucas Giolito (10th, 9.81) all rank among the AL leaders in strikeouts per 9.0 IP.
LONG BALL
The White Sox rank sixth in the American League this season with 96 home runs, including 26 over the last 14 games (22 solo), and are on pace to finish with 190.
By comparison, the Sox hit 66 homers over the first 82 games of 2022 and finished the season ranked 10th in the AL with 149.
Luis Robert Jr. (2nd, career-high 23) and Jake Burger (T6th, career-high 17) rank among the AL leaders this season.
STARTING PITCHER – #33 LANCE LYNN RHP
LYNN AT A GLANCE
Is scheduled to make his 17th start of the season, 10 on the road and second against the Boston Red Sox.
Has gone 0-3 with a 7.76 ERA (23 ER/26.2 IP), 1.58 WHIP and .288 (32-111) opponents average over his last five starts.
Has surrendered 19 home runs this season, tied for second-most in the majors … has allowed a homer in 12 of his 16 starts, including in five of his seven.
Owns a 10.69 ERA (19 ER/16.0 IP) and .342 (25-73) opponents average in the first inning … his 10.69 ERA is the seventh highest mark in baseball his season while
his 19 runs allowed are tied for the second-most and his .342 opponents average is the fifth-highest.
Ranks among MLB active pitchers in HR/9.0 IP (6th, 0.95), SO/9.0 IP (7th, 9.14), opponents average (9th, .243), wins (9th, 127), starts (9th, 301), opponents SLG (10th, .386), IP (10th, 1,95.1), strikeouts (10th, 1,824), opponents OPS (11th, .698), ERA (12th, 3.66), WHIP (12th, 1.27) and opponents OBP (13th, .312).
Pitched for Team USA in the 2023 World Baseball Classic … went 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA (3 ER/9.0 IP), .188 (6-32) opp. average and eight strikeouts in two starts.
Signed a two-year contract extension with a club option with the White Sox on 7/17/21 … the Sox hold an $18-million option for 2024 with a $1-million buyout.
Is a two-time All-Star (2012 and 2021) … has finished fifth in the AL Cy Young Award voting in 2019, sixth in 2020 and third in 2021 … was a member of the 2011
World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals.
LAST START
Received a no decision on 6/24 vs. Boston, allowing three runs on six hits with one walk and seven strikeouts over 5.2 IP … threw 105 pitches (73 strikes).
Surrendered a two-run home run to Triston Casas in the sixth inning.
Departed in the sixth with two outs, a runner on second and the White Sox trailing, 3-2 … Chicago’s scored three time over the last four innings to earn the victory, 5-4.
Owned a 68.0 first-strike percentage and 12.4 swinging-strike percentage (19 swing and misses) vs. 27 batters … threw 48 four-seam fastballs (92.5 avg; 94.3 max), 26 cutters (89.6 mph avg; 92.5 mph max), 10 changeups (85.0 avg; 86.7 max), seven sinkers (90.5 avg; 91.5 max), seven sliders (82.8 avg; 83.8 max), and seven curveballs (81.3 avg; 83.6 max).
GRAB SOME BENCH
Recorded his 25th career double-digit strikeout performance and sixth with the Sox on 6/18 at Seattle, tying Jack Harshman (7/25/1954 at Boston) for the franchise single-game strikeout record with 16.
Has struck out at least five batters in 90 of his 108 starts since 2019, the ninth-highest total in the majors.
ROAD TRIPPIN’
Is 2-4 with a 5.79 ERA (33 ER/51.1 IP) and .261 (53- 203) opponents average in nine road starts in 2023 … has allowed four runs or more in five of his nine starts on the road and three or less in the other four.
Has gone 10-11 with a 4.11 ERA (83 ER/181.2 IP), .250 (179-717) opponents average and 194 strikeouts over 32 starts on the road since 2021 … has allowed two runs or
less in 17 of those starts and one run or less in nine.
WORK HORSE
Ranks seventh in MLB with 1,795.2 IP since 2011 … is one of 13 active pitchers with 1,700.0-plus career IP.
Has thrown 100-plus pitches 72 times since 2019, the most in the majors during that span.
Has thrown 30,720 pitches since 2011, seventh-most during that span, and the most among MLB pitchers with less than 1,900.0 IP during that span.
VS. LOS ANGELES ANGELS || A.L. WEST
Is scheduled to make his 12th career start against the Angels, second this season, and sixth at Angel Stadium.
Suffered the loss on 5/31 in Chicago, allowing eight runs on eight hits with two walks and four strikeouts over 4.0 IP.
Has gone 0-1 with a 6.32 ERA (11 ER/15.2 IP), .318 (21-66) opponents average and 15 strikeouts over his last three starts vs. Los Angeles-AL … went 4-0 with a 2.55 ERA (7 ER/24.2 IP), 19 strikeouts and a .255 (24-94) opponents average in his previous four starts.
Is 0-2 with a 7.02 ERA (13 ER/16.1 IP) and .242 (15- 62) opponents average in three starts vs. the American League West this season.
LOS ANGELES ANGELS NOTES:
LEADING OFF: Today, the Angels play the fourth (2-1) of seven games on a homestand against the Chicago White Sox (2-1; June 26-29) and Arizona Diamondbacks (June 30 – July 2)…Halos went 1-2 on last road trip at Colorado…LAA was 0-2 on last homestand against the Dodgers.
THE GREATEST SHO: Tuesday night, Shohei Ohtani recorded his 15th career multi-HR game and his 22nd career 10+ strikeout game…He became the first A.L. player to hit multiple home runs and have 10+ pitching strikeouts in the same game since Cleveland’s Pedro Ramos on July 31, 1963 (Game 2) vs. Angels.
HALFWAY THERE: The Angels 44 wins through 81 team games were the most at the halfway point since 2014 (46-35).
WINNING MONTHS: Angels have secured a winning record for June, after going 15-13 in May and 15-14 in March/April (15-13 in April)…Halos have a record above .500 in three straight months for the first time since May – July 2019.
ESTÉVEZ ENDING: This season, Carlos Estévez is pitching to a 1.91 ERA (33 IP – 7 ER) and has converted all 20 of his save opportunities, which establishes a new Club record to begin a season…Lee Smith held the previous Halos record with 19 consecutive successful save chances to start the 1995 season.
SHO OFF: Tuesday night, Shohei Ohtani made his 16th career pitching start for the Angels while also leading the Majors in home runs as a batter…In 2021 he became the first player with multiple pitching starts in a season while leading Majors in homers since Babe Ruth in 1919.
REID THIS: Monday night was the fourth straight start for Reid Detmers with 8+ strikeouts and one-or-fewer runs allowed…The only other players with such a streak in Angels history are Nolan Ryan (twice) and Shohei Ohtani (2022). (credit: ESPN Stats & Info.)
STARTING STRONG: Last night snapped a streak of 13 straight starts for Angels starting pitchers allowing three-or-fewer runs…Since June 13, the rotation ranks third in the Majors with a combined 2.64 ERA (81.2 IP – 24 ER).
VS. WHITE SOX: Angels lead the 2023 season series 4-2 after taking two of three games in Chicago from May 29-31 and winning two of the three games in the current series…Halos have now won seven consecutive season series vs. White Sox and 11 of last 12 season series overall…Since 2011, Angels are 55-29 (.655) vs. CWS, including a 33-12 (.733) mark at The Big A.
HIGHEST CAREER OBP vs. WHITE SOX
(min. 200 PA)
- Babe Ruth – .471
- Mike Trout – .449
- Ted Williams – .449
- Lou Gehrig – .446
- Jimmie Foxx – .445
LEAGUE LEADER: As a hitter, Shohei Ohtani leads the Majors in home runs (28), total bases (205), XBH (48), slugging percentage (.659) and OPS (1.048) and is second in the Majors in RBI (64)…On the mound, he also leads the Majors in opponent batting average (.180), ranks third in strikeouts (127) and is fifth in WHIP (1.04).
PLAY FROM AHEAD: Halos have held leads in 64 of 82 games played this year (78%).
ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGHS: Saturday night at Colorado, the Angels set franchise records with 25 runs scored and 28 hits…Halos previously had 24 runs and 26 hits on Aug. 25, 1979 at Toronto and had 26 hits on June 20, 1980 at Boston…The 24 run margin of victory also set a Club record (previously was 22 in the 24-2 win vs. TOR
on 8/25/79).
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER – LHP PATRICK SANDOVAL
4-6, 4.16 ERA
Has allowed three-or-fewer earned runs in 10 of 14 starts this season
- TODAY’S GAME: Making 15th start of the season and seventh at home…Is in fifth Major League season with Angels…Made third Opening Day roster (also, 2020 & 2022).
- LAST TIME OUT: Did not factor in decision in last start on Friday at Colorado after tossing 5+ innings and allowing three earned runs on 10 hits with one walk and three strikeouts
- BACK IN THE WIN COLUMN: Earned the win in last start on June 16 at Kansas City after tossing 7.0 scoreless innings…First scoreless start of the season and snapped streak of five straight starts with a losing decision.
- GET SETTLED: Has yielded 11 of 39 runs (28%) on the season in the first inning.
- IN THE ARSENAL: This season, has thrown sliders 30.4% of the time, with opponents batting .260 (27/104) against the pitch…He throws changeups 26.4% of the time and is holding opponents to a .208 (21/101) average with 26 strikeouts.
- LEFT IN THE PARK: Has not allowed a home run to a left-handed batter since Aug. 13, 2021 (Kyle Tucker, HOU)…Allowed just eight total home runs last season (all to right-handed batters)…Since start of 2022, ranks second in the American League with a 0.56 HR/9 innings rate.
- GOOD NIGHT: This year, has a 3.44 ERA (49.2 IP – 19 ER) in night games, compared with a 5.54 ERA (26 IP – 16 ER) in day games….Last season, was 4-4 with a 2.50 ERA (72 IP – 20 ER) with 75 strikeouts in his 13 night starts, compared with a 2-5 record and 3.29 ERA (76.2 IP – 28 ER) in his 14 day games.
- VS. CHICAGO (A.L.): In two career starts against the White Sox, is 0-2 with a 5.23 ERA (10.1 IP – 6 ER).
- AT ANGEL STADIUM: In 38 career games (34 starts) at The Big A, is 5-16 with a 3.79 ERA (192.1 IP – 81 ER)… This season, is 1-3 with a 4.37 ERA (35.0 IP – 17 ER) in six home starts…Last year, was 3-4 with a 3.31 ERA (70.2 IP – 26 ER) in 13 home starts…Has allowed three-or-fewer runs in 27 of 34 career home starts.
- HOME OPENER: Started Angels Home Opener on April 7 vs. Toronto…Tossed 6.0 innings and allowed one earned run…Marked second time starting Angels Home Opener (also, 2020 vs. Seattle).
- WINNING STREAKS: Loss on April 20 at Yankees snapped streak of three straight winning decisions (dating back to last season), which was longest streak of career.
