Chicago White Sox vs. Cincinnati Reds

Chicago White Sox vs. Cincinnati Reds

Ryan Knuppel
3 years ago
3 min read

Tuesday night features the first of three in an interleague matchup between the Chicago White Sox (15-12) and the Cincinnati Reds (13-14). The Reds will host this one at the Great American Ballpark, with the first pitch scheduled for 6:40 pm ET.

Over the weekend, the White Sox dropped two of three to the Cleveland Indians. The 5-0 loss was already bad, but the damage done in the game might have been worse. Outfielder Luis Robert was forced to leave the game with a right hip flexor strain and has been put on the injured list.

The Reds had a better weekend, winning their series against the Chicago Cubs. The last game of the series was certainly not a pitcher’s duel as there were a combined 25 runs scored. The Reds won 13-12 in extras and were powered by a five home run day and five hits (including two homers) by Nick Castellanos.

Despite playing on the road, the White Sox are currently the favorites. They are -115 to win while the Reds’ moneyline sits at +105. The over/under for total runs is 9.5.

Pitching Matchup

The White Sox will send righty Dylan Cease (1-0, 2.96 ERA) to the mound. In his last outing, an 11-0 win over the Tigers, Cease went seven shutout innings allowing three hits and striking out nine.

The Reds will counter with Jeff Hoffman (2-1, 3.33 ERA). Hoffman has been good this year as he has a 1.36 WHIP and 19 strikeouts in 24.1 innings pitched. His last start was probably his worst as he walked five and allowed three runs over just four innings.

By The Number

Offensively, Cincinnati continues to be the best team in the league. In terms of scoring, they rank first, averaging 5.59 runs per game. The White Sox are also solid, ranking fourth and averaging 4.96 runs.

Defensively, it is the White Sox who have the advantage. They rank ninth in runs allowed per game at 3.93. The Reds fall to 29th, allowing opponents 5.30 runs per game.

White Sox Look To Improve On Road Record

Coming into play this week, the White Sox sit a game and a half behind the Kansas City Royals. While the White Sox have played well at home (9-6), they are trying to improve on a .500 road record (6-6).

Leading the team offensively has been Jose Abreu. Even though he is hitting just .202/.302/.374, he is tied for the team lead in home runs (five) and leads the team with nineteen runs batted in.

Third baseman Yoan Moncada has played well in the last week. Over the last six games, he has hit .300/.391/.500 with a home run and four runs batted in.

Reds Hope To Keep Bats Hot

While the Reds may struggle to keep runs off the board, they can certainly put them on. Not only do they lead the majors in runs per game, but they lead in home runs per game (1.59) and are sixth in batting average (.252).

Leading the team is outfielder Nick Castellanos. He is currently hitting .330/.366/.660 with a team-leading nine home runs and twenty runs batted in. In his career against Cease, he is just one for four to this point.

The Reds are still trying to get Eugenio Suarez’s bat going. In the last week, he is hitting .222/.222/.556 with a couple of home runs and four runs batted in. 

On the season, one of his biggest issues for Suarez has been the strikeout. He currently has 44 of them versus just 10 walks.

Expect Bats To Be Alive

This is a matchup of two teams that have potent offenses and question marks in their pitching staff. If Sunday is any indication, the Great American Ballpark can certainly cater to high-scoring games.

While both of these pitchers have shown flashes of brilliance, still expect the offense to be the real story in this one.

 

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