Post by Commissioner Erick on Apr 12, 2018 20:13:16 GMT -5
Chicago White Sox versus Chicago Cubs
After a disappointing end to 2017, the city of Chicago was treated with a Windy City World Series, when the Chicago White Sox take on the Chicago Cubs. The White Sox pulled ahead from a 2-2 split with Cleveland, and survived being down 3-1 to Texas to get to the World Series on the strength of terrific bullpen work and Rafael Devers' greatness. The Cubs meanwhile put a rough start to the playoffs behind them and have won eight of 10 on the back of a dominant pitching staff. The White Sox had the best record in baseball, while BaseRuns thought the Cubs were the best team. This series will answer those questions.
Cubs offense versus White Sox pitching
The White Sox will trot out Josh Tomlin to start Game 1. He doesn't walk anybody, but is extremely hittable. With everyone in Chicago's rotation exhausted, Chicago will hope to use him to steal Game 1. The rest of the series will feature Carlos Martinez, Carlos Rodon, and A.J. Cole.
Martinez was somewhat shaky in the postseason but a great performance in Game 7 of the ALCS allowed the White Sox to make it to the World Series. Rodon has great walk and strikeout numbers, but against great lineups in Cleveland and Texas—and a lot of righty power—he struggled with the long ball allowing five home runs in 19.2 innings. It isn't a surprise that as Rodon has struggled against righty-heavy lineups, Cole has been great. He's allowed just a pair of solo home runs in the playoffs, working with a 1.13 ERA. He's allowed just two walks and 17 strikeouts in 16 innings.
The best guys in the White Sox pen have been fantastic with Drew Storen and Arodys Vizcaino not allowing a run, and Dan Jennings putting up a 1.93 ERA. If you can get to Chicago's pen early you can get some runs, but they're awfully good late.
The Cubs have gotten good offense from Justin Upton, Anthony Rizzo, and Jose Reyes this postseason, with the team getting more clutch hits than total hits. With only two lefties, they provide a different challenge to the White Sox than Cleveland or Texas.
White Sox offense versus Cubs pitching
The White Sox offense sputtered without Andrew Benintendi early in the LCS, but came alive later in the series. Rafael Devers continued to mash, but the addition of Jay Bruce to the lineup midway through the ALCS gave the White Sox a power component they lacked without him. With Yoan Moncada having a nice run atop the lineup, the combination of Moncada, Devers, Bruce and Tim Anderson has done enough to get runs on the board for Chicago.
Of course the White Sox sill have a host of hitters not hitting, and they're scoring fewer than four runs a game since Benintendi has been out of the lineup. Considering the quality of arms they've faced during that time, it's not entirely damning, but it's clear that Chicago's offense has been quite ordinary.
Brandon Guyer's groin felt good enough to give it a go in Game 7. He can hit lefties, which will be important against the Cubs rotation, but is still bothered with that nagging groin injury. Nonetheless, he'll be important as a lefty-masher with the White Sox trotting out lefties in Devers, David Peralta, Eric Hosmer, and Charlie Tilson. Against Jake Arrieta, likely the only righty Chicago sends out, Guyer may sit, or Chris Koch, to get Bruce's bat in the lineup.
Chicago's pitching has been exceptional all season, a trend that has continued in the postseason. Kyle Hendricks may or may not start this postseason, and he has a 2.12 postseason ERA. Arrieta will start, and he has a 2.29 mark. The lefties haven't been quite as good, with Sale trotting out a 4.76 and Lester working with a 3.86 number, but they should get a boost facing a Dodgers lineup that skews left handed.
The Cubs bullpen has been filthy this year, with a 1.48 postseason ERA after leading the league with a 3.45 ERA in the regular season. Except for one bad outing against the Dodgers, Davis has been untouchable in the postseason as he's only allowed runs in two of his eight appearances, and only allowed earned runs in one.
A.J. Ramos has walked a tightrope, allowing six free passes and whiffing 13 in 9 innings of work, but those strikeouts allow him to work out of any jam, including self-inflicted ones. Meanwhile in the middle innings, Justin Grimm and Carl Edwards Jr. have allowed just two earned runs in 15 innings.
The bullpen leans extremely right-handed except for Oliver Perez, which may be an issue, but the arms are good enough to be not terrible affected by the platoon advantage.
It'll be tough for the White Sox to find consistent success if they rely on balls in play as the Cubs defense features defensive stalwarts all over the field, with Javier Baez and Albert Almora in the running for MVPs.
With the bullpen so strong and the defense impenetrable, it may be up to Rafael Devers' slugging abilities to get runs on the board.
Season Series
2-2
The teams split a four game home-and-home set in early June.
Chris Koch hit an American League record three doubles in the opener, Carlos Martinez allowed only a single run and struck out 10 in 6.1 innings, and the White Sox won 5-1 at home. The Cubs rallied the next day and beat up Tyler Chatwood for six runs in 4 innings. Despite Tim Anderson hitting three doubles, Kyle Hendricks worked a complete game and the Cubs won 6-1.
The series moved to Wrigley Field the next day and Bijan Rademacher hit his first major league home run. Nelson Cruz also went deep, Adam Wainwright got shelled, Pierce Johnson picked up and went 4.1 innings after Mike Montgomery got hurt, and the Cubs won a matchup of guys who won't play a role in the World Series 5-2. Despite stranding 11 runners in the finale, the White Sox salvaged a split when Carlos Rodon went 7.1 innings allowing just one run.
Deciding Questions
Can Tomlin deliver a quality performance in Game 1?
Can a clutch Cubs offense produce against a stout White Sox pen?
Will Sale and Arrieta slow down Rafael Devers?
Prediction: This will be the series where the White Sox offense slows down, as Sale and Lester are so strong from the left side. It'll be a low scoring series, but one the Cubs endure. Cubs in 6.
After a disappointing end to 2017, the city of Chicago was treated with a Windy City World Series, when the Chicago White Sox take on the Chicago Cubs. The White Sox pulled ahead from a 2-2 split with Cleveland, and survived being down 3-1 to Texas to get to the World Series on the strength of terrific bullpen work and Rafael Devers' greatness. The Cubs meanwhile put a rough start to the playoffs behind them and have won eight of 10 on the back of a dominant pitching staff. The White Sox had the best record in baseball, while BaseRuns thought the Cubs were the best team. This series will answer those questions.
Cubs offense versus White Sox pitching
The White Sox will trot out Josh Tomlin to start Game 1. He doesn't walk anybody, but is extremely hittable. With everyone in Chicago's rotation exhausted, Chicago will hope to use him to steal Game 1. The rest of the series will feature Carlos Martinez, Carlos Rodon, and A.J. Cole.
Martinez was somewhat shaky in the postseason but a great performance in Game 7 of the ALCS allowed the White Sox to make it to the World Series. Rodon has great walk and strikeout numbers, but against great lineups in Cleveland and Texas—and a lot of righty power—he struggled with the long ball allowing five home runs in 19.2 innings. It isn't a surprise that as Rodon has struggled against righty-heavy lineups, Cole has been great. He's allowed just a pair of solo home runs in the playoffs, working with a 1.13 ERA. He's allowed just two walks and 17 strikeouts in 16 innings.
The best guys in the White Sox pen have been fantastic with Drew Storen and Arodys Vizcaino not allowing a run, and Dan Jennings putting up a 1.93 ERA. If you can get to Chicago's pen early you can get some runs, but they're awfully good late.
The Cubs have gotten good offense from Justin Upton, Anthony Rizzo, and Jose Reyes this postseason, with the team getting more clutch hits than total hits. With only two lefties, they provide a different challenge to the White Sox than Cleveland or Texas.
White Sox offense versus Cubs pitching
The White Sox offense sputtered without Andrew Benintendi early in the LCS, but came alive later in the series. Rafael Devers continued to mash, but the addition of Jay Bruce to the lineup midway through the ALCS gave the White Sox a power component they lacked without him. With Yoan Moncada having a nice run atop the lineup, the combination of Moncada, Devers, Bruce and Tim Anderson has done enough to get runs on the board for Chicago.
Of course the White Sox sill have a host of hitters not hitting, and they're scoring fewer than four runs a game since Benintendi has been out of the lineup. Considering the quality of arms they've faced during that time, it's not entirely damning, but it's clear that Chicago's offense has been quite ordinary.
Brandon Guyer's groin felt good enough to give it a go in Game 7. He can hit lefties, which will be important against the Cubs rotation, but is still bothered with that nagging groin injury. Nonetheless, he'll be important as a lefty-masher with the White Sox trotting out lefties in Devers, David Peralta, Eric Hosmer, and Charlie Tilson. Against Jake Arrieta, likely the only righty Chicago sends out, Guyer may sit, or Chris Koch, to get Bruce's bat in the lineup.
Chicago's pitching has been exceptional all season, a trend that has continued in the postseason. Kyle Hendricks may or may not start this postseason, and he has a 2.12 postseason ERA. Arrieta will start, and he has a 2.29 mark. The lefties haven't been quite as good, with Sale trotting out a 4.76 and Lester working with a 3.86 number, but they should get a boost facing a Dodgers lineup that skews left handed.
The Cubs bullpen has been filthy this year, with a 1.48 postseason ERA after leading the league with a 3.45 ERA in the regular season. Except for one bad outing against the Dodgers, Davis has been untouchable in the postseason as he's only allowed runs in two of his eight appearances, and only allowed earned runs in one.
A.J. Ramos has walked a tightrope, allowing six free passes and whiffing 13 in 9 innings of work, but those strikeouts allow him to work out of any jam, including self-inflicted ones. Meanwhile in the middle innings, Justin Grimm and Carl Edwards Jr. have allowed just two earned runs in 15 innings.
The bullpen leans extremely right-handed except for Oliver Perez, which may be an issue, but the arms are good enough to be not terrible affected by the platoon advantage.
It'll be tough for the White Sox to find consistent success if they rely on balls in play as the Cubs defense features defensive stalwarts all over the field, with Javier Baez and Albert Almora in the running for MVPs.
With the bullpen so strong and the defense impenetrable, it may be up to Rafael Devers' slugging abilities to get runs on the board.
Season Series
2-2
The teams split a four game home-and-home set in early June.
Chris Koch hit an American League record three doubles in the opener, Carlos Martinez allowed only a single run and struck out 10 in 6.1 innings, and the White Sox won 5-1 at home. The Cubs rallied the next day and beat up Tyler Chatwood for six runs in 4 innings. Despite Tim Anderson hitting three doubles, Kyle Hendricks worked a complete game and the Cubs won 6-1.
The series moved to Wrigley Field the next day and Bijan Rademacher hit his first major league home run. Nelson Cruz also went deep, Adam Wainwright got shelled, Pierce Johnson picked up and went 4.1 innings after Mike Montgomery got hurt, and the Cubs won a matchup of guys who won't play a role in the World Series 5-2. Despite stranding 11 runners in the finale, the White Sox salvaged a split when Carlos Rodon went 7.1 innings allowing just one run.
Deciding Questions
Can Tomlin deliver a quality performance in Game 1?
Can a clutch Cubs offense produce against a stout White Sox pen?
Will Sale and Arrieta slow down Rafael Devers?
Prediction: This will be the series where the White Sox offense slows down, as Sale and Lester are so strong from the left side. It'll be a low scoring series, but one the Cubs endure. Cubs in 6.