CHICITYSPORTS – Chicago Sports  Blog – News – Forum – Rumors – Fans
  • BEARS
  • BULLS
  • BLACKHAWKS
  • CUBS
  • WHITE SOX
  • MESSAGE BOARD
Navigation
  • About Us
  • Chicago Sports Podcasts
  • ChiCity+
  • CHICITYSPORTS – Chicago Sports Blog – News – Forum – Rumors – Fans
  • Get In Touch
  • Join Our Group
  • Newsletter
  • Our Writers
  • Privacy Policy
  • Want to Write for ChiCitySports?
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Trending
  • Former Chicago Bears safety lands job with Tennessee
  • Darnell Mooney’s latest move suggests a potential payday is coming?
  • REPORT: Chicago Bears ask permission from Packers to interview defensive coordinator candidate
  • 3 possible trade targets for the Chicago Bulls
  • Air Jordan 11 ‘DMP’ to get Holiday 2023 release?
  • NFL analyst believes Bears QB Justin Fields had overrated year
  • Favorite sports slots at online casinos in the USA
  • Chicago White Sox 2023 prospect watch: outfielder Oscar Colas
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Our Writers
  • Want to Write for ChiCitySports?
CHICITYSPORTS – Chicago Sports  Blog – News – Forum – Rumors – FansCHICITYSPORTS – Chicago Sports  Blog – News – Forum – Rumors – Fans
  • BEARS

    Former Chicago Bears safety lands job with Tennessee

    January 21, 2023

    Darnell Mooney’s latest move suggests a potential payday is coming?

    January 20, 2023

    REPORT: Chicago Bears ask permission from Packers to interview defensive coordinator candidate

    January 19, 2023

    NFL analyst believes Bears QB Justin Fields had overrated year

    January 19, 2023

    Chicago Bears: 3 studs and duds from the the 2022-23 season

    January 18, 2023
  • BULLS

    3 possible trade targets for the Chicago Bulls

    January 19, 2023

    Air Jordan 11 ‘DMP’ to get Holiday 2023 release?

    January 19, 2023

    Chicago Fans’ One Wish for Every Team in 2023

    December 31, 2022

    Zach LaVine trade rumors: 3 possible destinations

    December 30, 2022

    Milwaukee Bucks at Chicago Bulls: 1 Best Bet

    December 28, 2022
  • BLACKHAWKS

    Chicago Fans’ One Wish for Every Team in 2023

    December 31, 2022

    Blackhawks’ Sam Lafferty returns to line-up vs. Jets

    December 9, 2022

    Blackhawks recall Lukas Reichel from Rockford

    December 6, 2022

    Phillip Danault: A Player Extraordinaire

    November 29, 2022

    Blackhawks re-assign Ian Mitchell to Rockford IceHogs

    November 25, 2022
  • CUBS

    Chicago Cubs still sculpting their bullpen

    January 17, 2023

    Chicago Cubs 2023 prospect watch: Matt Mervis

    January 15, 2023

    Cubs add three shortstops through International Prospect signing day

    January 15, 2023

    Cubs and Trey Mancini agree to a two-year deal

    January 14, 2023

    Cubs hot stove: With Nick Madrigal as the odd man out, could the Cubs trade him?

    January 13, 2023
  • WHITE SOX

    Chicago White Sox 2023 prospect watch: outfielder Oscar Colas

    January 18, 2023

    Chicago Fans’ One Wish for Every Team in 2023

    December 31, 2022

    MLB analyst pitches insane White Sox Yankees trade

    December 22, 2022

    Outfielder Andrew Benintendi signs with White Sox

    December 16, 2022

    Analyst Reveals Poor Grade For White Sox Offseason So Far

    December 12, 2022
  • MESSAGE BOARD
Facebook Twitter Instagram
CHICITYSPORTS – Chicago Sports  Blog – News – Forum – Rumors – Fans
Home»WHITE SOX»Chicago White Sox weekend against Yankees displays talent gap
WHITE SOX

Chicago White Sox weekend against Yankees displays talent gap

Mike FinkBy Mike FinkMay 15, 20226 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Reddit Tumblr Email
18263656 850x560 1
18263656 850x560 1
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

The Chicago White Sox lost three of the four games over the weekend against the New York Yankees. However, the weekend losses were often decisive, lopsided games, starting with the 15-7 pummeling and capped off with a 5-1 pitching duel defeat.

The weekend not only was tough for the White Sox, setting them back in the division in an otherwise strong month. The loss spoke to the greater picture. How do the White Sox stack up against the elite teams in the American League? The Yankees are the best team in the American League and over the weekend, they prove why. Unfortunately, the team showed how far they are from a team like the Yankees as well.

White Sox rotation tested

The series started with Dylan Cease going up against Luis Gil and ended with Michael Kopech pitching against Nestor Cortez. The two starts contrasted how the top of a rotation and backend of a rotation can look and what a championship-caliber rotation is. Cease has emerged as the ace this season and pitched a respectable 11 strikeout performance on Thursday while Kopech threw six innings and allowed only one run on Sunday. However, both pitchers were outdueled at the end of the day, speaking volumes to the Yankees rotation.

Granted, Cortez has emerged as one of the best pitchers in the American League this season. With a .179 expected opponent Batting Average (xBA) and a .290 expected opponent Slugging Percentage (xSLG) led by well-located fastballs and cutters, Cortez is not a backend of the rotation starter. However, the game displayed the rotation gap. Even though Kopech stepped up, he was outmatched by a pitcher who threw eight innings with seven strikeouts and allowed only one run in his final inning.

Michael Kopech is just the sixth White Sox pitcher in franchise history to suffer the loss despite allowing one hit or less over 6-plus IP and first since Carlos Rodón on 5/26/21 vs. St. Louis (L; 1 H/6.0 IP).

— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) May 15, 2022

Moreover, the best starters White Sox were outdueled in the weekend in Cease in Kopech but Friday and Saturday’s games didn’t fare much better. Dallas Kuechel put together another respectable start, pitching five scoreless innings in the White Sox 3-2 walk-off win, the only win of the series. However, Friday’s game was another drubbing, as the Yankees lineup attack Vince Velaquez for seven runs in five innings, resulting in a 10-4 game. In those games, the Yankees starters were Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery, two established pitchers in the middle of strong seasons. Essentially the weekend displayed the difference between a good rotation and a great one.

White Sox lineup vs Yankees lineup

Starting with the 15 runs on Thursday, it was clear the weekend was going to become a battle of batting orders. To the credit of the White Sox, they hung in at times. The lineup scored seven runs in the first game of the series, tying up the game in the seventh inning. Additionally, the lineup led a ninth-inning rally in the win on Saturday. However, the White Sox were outscored 32-14 in the series, failing to match the Yankees’ bats.

The lineup comparison displays two major differences between the Yankees lineup and the White Sox lineup. The first thing is the Yankees have two of the best sluggers in baseball this season, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. The White Sox have power at the top of the lineup but not the same type of power. Moreover, without Eloy Jimenez, the batting order has taken a hit, especially at the top. The second thing that stood out over the weekend was the depth of each lineup. The White Sox since the start of the season have struggled to find runs from the back half of the lineup. Over the weekend, it showed.

Another day, another Judge dinger. pic.twitter.com/iMLg9aP7vC

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) May 14, 2022

The White Sox lineup doesn’t fall apart after its top three or four hitters. Instead, the approach at the plate seems different. The Yankees have added plate discipline throughout their lineup and it has paid off tenfold, creating a juggernaut of a batting order. The White Sox, meanwhile, have power in the back half of the order in Gavin Sheets and Jake Burger, who is currently injured. Unfortunately, the plate discipline isn’t there. With only two batters possessing an On-Base Percentage (OBP) over .300 and the lineup as a whole possessing an OBP of .287, opposing pitchers can easily eliminate the lineup.

Where the two teams felt equal

Oddly enough, the weekend displayed parallels with their bullpens. The White Sox were outplayed in the series but the bullpen was still a strength of the team. Both the Yankees and the White Sox displayed two of the best bullpens over the weekend. At the same time, both pitching staffs proved susceptible to blowing games.

The White Sox relievers allowed nine runs in the final three frames against the Yankees in the first game of the series, fueling the 15-7 loss. The Yankees meanwhile tied the Saturday game up at two in the ninth inning only to lose the game with Aroldis Chapman failing to locate his pitches, thus allowing the 3-2 walk-off.

The bullpen carried the team early on in the season and has saved a lot of headaches. Moreover, the emergence of Matt Foster gives the team a luxury that will help them continue to make up ground in the standings throughout the season.

The series implications for the White Sox?

The White Sox are still going to compete for their division. The Minnesota Twins are having a strong season but the White Sox can and will push them for the American League Central Division. That’s not how the team will define this season. Rather, the measurement of success will be a deep playoff run in the American League.

The recent series against the Yankees didn’t just show the talent gap between the White Sox and their weekend opponent, it showed the gap in the American League. How do the White Sox stack up against the Toronto Blue Jays or Tampa Bay Rays? What about the Houston Astros and the Los Angeles Angels in the west?

Based on the recent series, the White Sox are still a few pieces away from competing with those teams. The question is what does the team do to fix that? The answer at first is not much. Lynn eventually will return to the rotation and when he does, the team will have a better clue of how good the pitching staff is. Likewise, Jimenez will make his way back to the lineup. However, the team still lacks depth in the back half of the lineup and plate discipline. As a result, the trade deadline will be a critical part of their season.

For More Great Chicago Sports Content

Follow us on Twitter at @chicitysports23 for more great content. We appreciate you taking time to read our articles. To interact more with our community and keep up to date on the latest in Chicago sports news, JOIN OUR FREE FACEBOOK GROUP by CLICKING HERE

Chicago White Sox Dylan Cease Jose Abreu Michael Kopech
Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Tumblr Email
WhatsApp Image 2021 11 24 at 10.27.22 AM
Mike Fink
  • Twitter

Mike Fink joined ChiCitySports in April 2022 and covers the Chicago White Sox. In addition to writing for ChiCitySports, Fink covers the NHL for The Hockey Writers and writes betting previews for NHL & MLB games on multiple blogs. Follow Mike on Twitter @Finks_thoughts for more of his content and sports insights.

Related Posts

WHITE SOX January 18, 2023

Chicago White Sox 2023 prospect watch: outfielder Oscar Colas

Cubs January 13, 2023

Cubs hot stove: With Nick Madrigal as the odd man out, could the Cubs trade him?

Bears December 31, 2022

Chicago Fans’ One Wish for Every Team in 2023

WHITE SOX December 22, 2022

MLB analyst pitches insane White Sox Yankees trade

WHITE SOX December 16, 2022

Outfielder Andrew Benintendi signs with White Sox

WHITE SOX December 12, 2022

Analyst Reveals Poor Grade For White Sox Offseason So Far

Leave A Reply

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

Team Message Boards

bears TP
bulls TP
cubs TP
sox TP
hawks TP
we want you to write
Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
  • Home
  • Message Board
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Our Writers
  • Want to Write for ChiCitySports?
© 2023 ChiCitySports. Designed by Dope Guys Who Run ChiCitySports.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.