RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Luis Castillo, seen here pondering where he was going to eat after the game last Saturday night. | (Photo by Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images)
Just a few weeks ago, this series looked like it would all but determine the AL Central. While it still will go a long way towards that for the White Sox, a seven-game winning streak by the Cleveland Guardians that has seen them make their case as the only other “contender” in the division.
With the Twins all but out of the race, and the Guardians right on Chicago’s heels, this series is an absolute must-win for the South Siders. As they have all season, the White Sox have treaded water as of late. Unfortunately, the Guardians look to finally be making their move.
While the White Sox are currently in the playoffs by 4 ½ games, winning the division is imperative to not only get a home playoff game, but to also likely get the second seed and a bye into the ALDS.
You may be asking yourself: Who are the White Sox going to throw out for game one of this pivotal series? Why it would be none other than Luis Castillo, who has been about as popular in Chicago as Aaron Rodgers. Admittedly, the only significant piece the Sox gave up for Castillo was Seranthony Domínguez, who isn’t a good pitcher, either, but Castillo has performed like a double agent for the rest of the AL Central.
In four starts for the team, Castillo has a 5.89 ERA. Most recently, he gave up eight hits and four earned runs in less than three innings of work against the New York Mets last Saturday. To say the crowd was unimpressed by his performance (me included) would be an understatement. Outside of a start against the Cincinnati Reds (0ne hit over seven innings), Castillo has allowed four or more runs in every other effort for the South Siders. While the Twins aren’t exactly an offensive juggernaut, fans will still be holding their breath.
Minnesota will also be running out an uninspiring pitcher in Dean Kremer. While he’s been poor on the season as a whole, recently he’s found his groove, posting a 3.18 ERA in four starts for the Twins. With that being said, his two good starts came against the Kansas City Royals and Baltimore Orioles, who are basically Triple-A teams. Against actual competition, like the Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres, Kremer has allowed six earned runs in just shy of 11 innings of work.
I would love to sit here and feel optimistic or pessimistic, so I can really lean in to what I think is going to happen tonight, but I have a better chance of winning the 50/50 raffle than predicting the outcome. The Twins have been awful as of late, but have the much better pitcher. Castillo has barely looked like a baseball player lately, but do we really expect the Twins to NOT disappoint their fans?
No matter what happens, this should be a great game that will definitely make fans of both teams feel all of the emotions throughout the game. Let’s just hope the final emotion for South Siders is jubilance and not dejection.
Here is the starting lineup for the Chicago White Sox:
Here is the starting lineup for the Minnesota Twins:
First pitch is at 7:10 p.m. CDT. The game will be televised on CHSN and can be heard on ESPN Chicago 1000. Drop your predictions and thoughts down below!
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