CLEVELAND GUARDIANS NOTES:
GUARDS HOT BATS STRIKE EARLY IN 6-3 VICTORY
Coming off a 4-2 homestand, the Cleveland Guardians opened a 7-game road trip thru Chicago-AL (4G) and Houston (3G) with a 6-3 victory over the White Sox on Thursday night at Guaranteed Rate Field…Guardians embarked on the Southside having won 3 consecutive series for first time since ending 2022 regular season with 5 straight series wins…Cleveland has gone 11-5-1 over last 17 series (31-23 record since May 26). » TANNER BIBEE pitched deep into the 7th inning of a quality start to earn his staff-leading 7th victory of 2023 (6.2IP, 6H, 3RER, 2BB, 6SO, 2HR, 97 pitches)…totality of damage against the rookie right-hander came off the bat of Jake Burger, who led off the 3rd inning with a solo homer (23) before adding a 2-run blast (24) in the 5th to plate Yasmani Grandal (lead-off single)…TREVOR STEPHAN (1.1IP, SO) bridged a scoreless gap to EMMANUEL CLASE, who worked around a pair of hits in the 9th to notch his AL- leading [tied] 28th save…Guardians offense pounded out 13 base knocks – including 6 for extra bases – getting multi-hit efforts from six different players…STEVEN KWAN set an early tone, leading off the game with a triple before scoring on ANDRÉS GIMÉNEZ’s RBI-double…JOSH NAYLOR continued his Southside success with a game-high 3 RBI, picking up a 2-run double in the club’s 3-run 3rd inning against Dylan Cease (5.2IP, 9H, 4R-ER, 2BB, 5SO, 102 pitches) before legging out another RBI-double in the 7th…WILL BRENNAN and BO NAYLOR also added RBI-singles. » Cleveland (52-51) sits in 2nd place in the AL Central standings, 1.5 games behind 2nd-place Minnesota (54-50) and 6.0 games ahead of 3rd-place Detroit (-7.5G, 46-57)…Guardians have won 7 of 10, 20 of 33, 27 of 46 and 30 of last 52, though have also dropped 45 of last 88 overall since starting year 9-6.
THE CITY OF ROCK ‘N ROLL PLAYING THE HITS
Since June 1, Cleveland has out-hit their opponents in 34 games, 6 more than any other MLB team (Texas and Boston, 28)…the Guardians 24 wins in those 34 games are tied for most in MLB with Boston…however, Cleveland’s 10 losses when out-hitting their opponents since June 1 are more than any other MLB team, ahead
of Texas (9).
The Guardians lead MLB with 27 double-digit hit games in 50 games since May 30, ahead of Boston and Texas (24)…in Cleveland’s 53 games before May 30, the club had just 10 double-digit hit games…the club’s 498 hits since May 30 are most in MLB during the stretch, ahead of Texas (490)…the Guards also have an MLB-high .280 batting average since May 30, ahead of Texas (.279)…Cleveland is also the only team with 3 players ranking in the top-10 in hits since May 30; no other team has more than one… JOSH NAYLOR (69) is 2nd, behind MIA’s Luis Arraez (73)…JOSÉ RAMÍREZ (61, T5th) and STEVEN KWAN (59, T10th) round out the trio in the top 10.
RUMBLE, YOUNG MAN, RUMBLE
Cleveland is the only MLB team to have 6 different rookies throw 30.0+ innings this season, ahead of Oakland (5); TANNER BIBEE (89.2IP) LOGAN ALLEN (74.1IP), XZAVION CURRY (54.1IP), GAVIN WILLIAMS (37.2IP) PEYTON BATTENFIELD (34.2IP) and HUNTER GADDIS (31.1IP)…38.62% of Cleveland’s innings pitched this season .357.0IP/924.1IP) have come via rookies, 2nd in MLB behind Oakland (42.15%)…the Guards rookies rank amongst MLB clubs’ rookies in wins (18, 1st), games started (51, T1st), strikeouts (325, 2nd) and innings pitched (357.0, 2nd)… Cleveland possesses the youngest average age of pitchers (26.1) among MLB clubs this season, ahead of Miami (27.3).
TOUGH AS NAYLS
JOSH NAYLOR has been one of MLB’s most effective hitters since May 30, ranking in RBI (47, T1st), batting average (.371, 2nd), hits (69, 2nd), AB/RBI (3.96, 2nd), singles (42, T2nd), doubles (19, 3rd), BABIP (.394, 3rd) and OPS (1.004, 5th) over that span… he is currently the only MLB player with a .300-or-better batting average and 75+ RBI…with a .304 average and 79 RBI entering tonight, he is the first Cleveland hitter to produce such numbers through the team’s first 103 games since Victor Martinez in 2004 (.305, 79 RBI). » After going 2-for-4 with 3 RBI in last night’s win, Naylor produced his 18th multi-hit, multi-RBI game this season, the most of any MLB hitter this season ahead of Los Angeles-AL’s Shohei Ohtani (16)… his 18 multi-hit, multi-RBI performances through 103 games are the most by a Cleveland hitter in the same timeframe since Juan González (18) in 2001 and Manny Ramirez (23) in 1999…Naylor is also tied for the MLB lead this season with 10 games of 2+H and 3+RBI, joining Los Angeles-NL’s Freddie Freeman…in 11 games at Guaranteed Rate Field in the last 2 years, he has a slash line of .452/.500/.857 (19-for-42 AB) with 9 extra-base hits and 19 RBI.
TITO TERRIFIC
With his next victory, Terry Francona (1,926) will pass Hall-of- Famer Casey Stengel for 13th-most wins by a manager in MLB History…he is 83 wins away from 12th place, held by Hall-of-Famer Leo Durocher (2,009)…Francona has the third-most wins by an active MLB manager behind Bruce Bochy (2,063) and Dusty Baker (2,151)…Tito went 285-363 (.440) in 4 seasons with Philadelphia from 1997-2000…during his 8 seasons with Boston (2004-2011) he went 744-552 (.574) and won the World Series in 2004 and 2007… through his 11 seasons with Cleveland, he is currently 897-722 (.554), leading the Guardians to 4 AL Central Titles (2016-18, 2022) and the American League Pennant in 2016…Francona has won AL Manager of the Year in 2013, 2016 and 2022.
WELCOME TO CLASE, I’M YOUR CLOSER, EMMANUEL
EMMANUEL CLASE tied Michael Jackson (94) for 6th-most saves in franchise history last night…he is 10 saves away from José Mesa (104) for 5th-most in club history…his 28 saves (T1st in the AL/T3rd in MLB) are tied with BAL’s Felix Bautista and TOR’s Jordan Romano…his 49 appearances this season ranks T1st in the AL/MLB with HOU’s Bryan Abreu and SEA’s Matt Brash… Clase has limited right-handed hitters to a .189 (17-for-90) average this season, compared to left-handed hitters’ .256 (23-for-90) clip against him…in his career, he has limited right-handers to a .189 average (79-for-418) and left-handers to a .203 mark (75-for-369).
Clase ranks among relievers since 2021 (min. 100.0IP) in games played (197, 1st), games finished (159, 1st), ERA (1.75, 2nd), OPS (.483, 2nd), saves (94, T2nd), HR/9 (0.33, 2nd), OBP (.233, 3rd), innings pitched (190.0, 3rd), BR/9 (8.19, 3rd), WHIP (0.91, 4th) FIP (2.23, 4th) and SLG (.250, 5th).
LEADIN’ WITH STEVEN
In yesterday’s game, STEVEN KWAN went 2-for-5 with 2 runs and a triple…the triple led off the game and marked his 3rd career leadoff triple…since debuting in 2022, Kwan ranks among MLB leadoff hitters in leadoff triples (3, T1st), balls in play (158, 2nd), leadoff singles (38, 3rd) and leadoff hits (53, T4th)…he also ranks among all MLB hitters since 2022 in pct. of swings put in play (50.3%, 1st), PA/SO (9.94, 2nd), swing-and-miss rate (9.9%, 2nd-lowest), singles (211, 3rd), infield hits (38, T4th), 3+hit games (24, T5th), 4+hit games (6, T5th), triples (10, T5th), hits (281, T9th), pitches faced (4,484, 10th) and times on base (397, T10th).
TONIGHT’S STARTER – #44 XZAVION CURRY RHP
CURRY ON THE ROAD
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023 1-0 3.55 12 1 25.1 26 11 10 4 18
Career 1-0 3.55 12 1 25.1 26 11 10 4 18
CURRY’S MLB CAREER
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023 3-0 2.98 26 2 54.1 49 20 18 14 38
Career 3-1 3.39 28 4 63.2 62 27 24 20 41
TONIGHT’S START
The 24-year-old right-hander is scheduled to make his third start of the season, fifth of his career, in the second matchup of this 4-game set with the Chicago White Sox…marks just his second career start on the road…worked 3.0 scoreless innings on July 17 against the Pirates at PNC Park…in his two previous starts, he owns a 1.50 ERA (1ER/6.0IP) with 5 strikeouts and 4 walks… his last start came on July 23 against Philadelphia (3.0IP, H, 1R/ ER, 3BB, 3SO)…made a relief appearance on Wednesday in the 9th inning to close out the series against Kansas City (1.0IP, 2H, 1R/ER, 1SO).
Curry has served mainly as a reliever this season, owning a 3-0 record with a 3.17 ERA (17ER/48.1IP) in 24 relief appearances…15 of his relief appearances have been 1.0+ innings.
Was selected in the 7th round (220th) of the 2019 MLB Draft out of Georgia Tech…made his Major League Debut on August 15, 2022 against the Detroit Tigers, allowing 3 runs (earned) on 8 hits with 3 strikeouts and one walk.
LAST TIME OUT
Curry’s last start came on Sunday against Philadelphia… following 2 walks and a single, Curry found himself in a bases-loaded, 2-out jam…he only allowed one run due to a balk, scoring the runner on third…he would go on to retire the next 6 batters he faced to get through his outing.
The right-hander also made a relief appearance on Wednesday in the ninth inning on an 8-2 game against the Royals…he struck out the first batter he faced before MJ Melendez took him to right field for a solo home run…it was the only damage he allowed as he worked through the inning and Cleveland won 8-3 to close out the series win against Kansas City.
THE X-FACTOR
Curry has faced Chicago-AL three times this season…he owns a 2.08 ERA (1ER/4.1IP) in those three outings…he faced the White Sox in 3 straight appearances on May 16, May 17 and May 23… this will be his 8th appearance against the AL Central this season and his first start against the division…has posted a 2.61 ERA (3ER/10.1IP) with 11 strikeouts and 2 walks in 7 relief appearances against divisional opponents
LIMITING LEFTIES
Over his last eight outings since June 23, Curry has handcuffed left-handed hitters, holding them to just three hits in 28 at-bats (.107)…conversely, right-handed hitters own a .265 average (9-for34) during that stretch…overall, lefties are hitting .212 (21-for-99) against Curry this season, while righties are batting .259 (28-for108) hitting 5 of the 6 home runs Curry has allowed.
CHICAGO WHITE SOX NOTES:
WHITE SOX AT A GLANCE
The Chicago White Sox have lost six straight games, eight of the last nine, 14 of 18 and 28 of 41 as they continue a six-game homestand tonight vs. the Cleveland Guardians.
RHP Touki Toussaint, who has allowed two earned runs in three of his four starts with the White Sox, is scheduled to start.
Tonight’s contest will be nationally streamed exclusively on Apple TV+ with Alex Faust and Ryan Spilborghs in the booth.
The White Sox lost last night’s series opener to the Guardians after losing both games to the Cubs to open the homestand.
The White Sox are in fourth place in the American League Central, 13.0 games behind the division-leading Twins (54-50).
Following this series vs. the Guardians and an off day Monday, the Sox will take a six-game trip to Texas and Cleveland (8/1-6).
Chicago went 3-6 on their last trip from 7/14-23 at Atlanta, New York-NL and Minnesota and 1-5 on their last homestand prior to the All-Star break from 7/4-9 vs. Toronto (0-3) and St. Louis (1-2).
TONIGHT’S STORYLINES
The White Sox are 22 games below the .500 mark for the first time since the end of the 2018 season (62-100) … they have lost six straight for the first time since 4/19-29 (10 in a row).
The Sox have lost eight of the last nine games at home … all nine contests have been decided by four runs or less.
Touki Toussaint owns a 3.95 ERA (12 ER/27.1 IP), .176 (16-91) average and 23 strikeouts in seven games (three starts) with the Sox.
Tim Anderson is 17-49 (.347) with two doubles, five RBI, fourwalks and seven multihit efforts in 12 second-half games … he has raised his average from .223 to .241 since the break.
Andrew Benintendi is hitting .310/.366/.403 (40-129) with nine doubles, a homer, 12 RBI, 12 walks, 18 runs and 12 multihit efforts in 31 games since moving to the leadoff spot on 6/17.
Eloy Jiménez owns five multhit efforts in his last seven games, going 12-28 (.429) with three doubles, a homer and six RBI.
LET’S MAKE A DEAL
The White Sox have acquired RHPs Nick Nastrini and Jordan Leasure and OF Trayce Thompson from the Dodgers in exchange for RHPs Joe Kelly and Lance Lynn.
The Sox also have acquired C Korey Lee from Houston in exchange for RHP Kendall Graveman.
Nastrini is rated as the No. 9 prospect in the Dodgers organization, and Lee is No. 5 in the Astros system, per MLB.com
Thompson has appeared in 333 games over MLB seasons with the White Sox (2015, ‘18), Dodgers (2016-17, ’22-23), Oakland (2018), Chicago Cubs (2021) and San Diego (2022).
ROSTER MOVE
The Sox selected the contract of RHP Declan Cronin from Class AAA Charlotte … he has no major-league experience and will wear uniform No. 59 … Cronin is 1-0 with a 4.03 ERA (20 ER/44.2 IP) and 36 strikeouts with Charlotte this season (41 G).
LAST NIGHT’S RECAP
Cleveland took an early 4-0 and scored twice late in its 6-3 win over the Chicago in the series opener.
The Guardians scored once in the first and three times in the third … Jake Burger cut the White Sox deficit to one with a solo home run in the third and two-run shot in the fifth.
Cleveland scored once in the seventh and eighth and stranded six Sox baserunners over the final four innings.
Dylan Cease fell to 4-4 after allowing four runs on nine hits with five strikeouts and two walks in 5.2 IP.
Burger recorded his second career multihomer game.
BURGER BOMBS
Jake Burger’s 24 home runs are the most by a White Sox primary third baseman since Yoán Moncada’s 25 in 2019.
He is one of three MLB players to homer in consecutive games six different times this season, joining the Angels’ Shohei Ohtani (eight times) and the Mets’ Pete Alonso (six).
Burger ranks among the MLB home leaders (minimum 150 plate appearances) in home runs (T3rd, 16), slugging percentage (2nd, .671) and OPS (5th, .992).
CLEVELAND DOESN’T ROCK
White Sox starters owns a 2.21 ERA (22 ER/89.2 IP), .243 (83- 341) opp. average, four home runs allowed, a .649 OPS and 65 strikeouts over the last 15 games vs. Cleveland since 7/23/22.
Sox starters have allowed three earned runs or less in 14 games, two or less 11 times and one or less eight times.
The last time a Chicago starter allowed five-plus earned runs against the Guardians was 7/22/22 (Lucas Giolito; 6 ER/3.0 IP).
WHITE SOX VS. CLEVELAND GUARDIANS
Chicago has won four of the first seven games this season… the two clubs play seven times over a 14-day span from 7/27-8/6.
The White Sox are hitting .249/.291/.409 with nine homers, own a 2.47 ERA (17 ER/62.0 IP) and a 29-19 edge in runs scored.
Chicago went 7-12 vs. Cleveland last season, including 3-6 at Guaranteed Rate Field and 4-6 at Progressive Field.
The Sox are 10-13 and have been outscored by a 110-103 margin at home since the start of the 2021 season … 16 of the 23 games have been decided by three runs or less.
Chicago is 21-24 since the start of 2021, including 31 contests decided by three runs or less (13-18 record).
CENTRAL DIVISION DYNAMICS
The White Sox are playing an American League Central division opponent at home for the first time since 6/2-4 vs. Detroit.
Chicago is 15-15 vs. the AL Central, including a 10-3 mark at Guaranteed Rate Field … the White Sox have won six of the last seven vs. the division with a 26-12 edge in runs scored.
Eloy Jimenez is 16-44 (.364) with three home runs, 11 RBI and a 1.030 OPS in 11 games vs. the Central this season.
STARTING PITCHER – #47 TOUKI TOUSSAINT RHP
TOUSSAINT AT A GLANCE
Is scheduled to make his fifth start (eighth appearance) of the season and second (third) at home.
Owns a 0-1 record with a 4.10 ERA (5 ER/26.1 IP), .182 (16-88) opponents average, 17 walks and 23 strikeouts with the White Sox in 2023.
Has worked at least 5.0 IP in each of his last three appearances (two starts) … has struck out 12 during that span.
Is limiting right-handed hitters to a .159/.288/.205 (7-44) slash line with eight walks and 15 strikeouts this year.
Was claimed off waivers by the White Sox on 6/20 after being designated for assignment by Cleveland on 6/17.
Opponents are batting .120/.375/.120 (3-25) with RISP and .000/.421/.000 (0-11) with RISP/two-outs this year.
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
Suffered the loss in his fourth start of the year on 7/19 at New York-NL … allowed a season-high five runs on four hits (one home run) with four walks and three strikeouts over a season-high 6.0 IP.
Exited in the seventh inning with the Sox trailing, 1-5,
the eventual final score.
Marked his seventh career outing throwing 6.0-plus IP (last on 8/16/21 at Miami with Atlanta).
VS. CLEVELAND GUARDIANS || A.L. CENTRAL
Is scheduled to make his second career appearance (second start) against the Cleveland Guardians.
Faced Cleveland on 4/20/19 at Cleveland with Atlanta … allowed seven runs on six hits with one walk, three hit batters and two strikeouts over 1.1 IP.
Made one start with Cleveland this year on 6/16/23 at Arizona … allowed two runs on three hits with five walks, two strikeouts across 3.2 IP.
Is 1-0 with a 37.80 ERA (7 ER/1.2 IP), .545 (6-11) opponents average, one walk and two strikeouts lifetime against the American League Central.
