A lot of pregame questions to White Sox manager Will Venable on Saturday morning centered around how his team will respond to the largest margin of defeat in a Crosstown game played at Wrigley Field. Too many qualifiers for that to be a really impressive stat, but a pertinent query nonetheless.
"Our group has done a great job throughout this year where we've had some tough days and every time we've answered the bell and come out the next day ready to play with energy, and that's what I love about this group," Venable said. "We've experienced some tough ones and have always come back ready to go."
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On top of generally defying his peripherals en route to a 4.15 ERA in a way that needs to be rectified eventually, Sean Burke has struggled in the first inning so far this season. He has a 6.75 ERA in the opening frame, more walks (6) than strikeouts (5) and opponents have hit .219/.359/.531 against him in the first.
Burke has discussed it and even gone to the time-tested practice of trying to treat the end of his pregame bullpen with in-game intensity as a means of triggering his mid-game performance into appearing sooner. With the Cubs offering five left-handed hitters Saturday, including for three out of the first four hitters, this would have been a fine day for another left-handed opener. But also, Burke needs to work through this issue eventually.
""That's going to be part of having good, quality starts is coming out ready to go and attacking the zone," Venable said. "He's seen on a couple times what happens when that doesn't happen. There's been times when there's been walks and he's gotten bailed out to be honest. That's part of his development is coming out here ready to go and attacking the zone. Great opportunity to do that today."
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Venable said Tyler Gilbert's sprained left MCL is "similar but not as bad" as what he dealt with in spring training. Using the hallowed tool of Cactus League game log, Gilbert's knee sidelined him for about three weeks earlier this year.
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What can one say about Luis Robert Jr. other than it ain't happened for him yet. He's 4-for-31 with a walk and zero extra-base hits over his last nine games.
"Just seeing him searching a little bit still," Venable said. "He's just such an athletic guy, you just want to see that come out in every part of his game. You certainly see it on the bases and defensively. Maybe just a little calculated at the plate, which is understandable when you're trying to find your groove and feel good. For me, his process is good. He's continuing to work. He's making adjustments and doing all the right things. For a guy that's as talented as he is, we expect the results to come here shortly."
First pitch: White Sox at Cubs
TV: CHSN, Marquee (Cubs)
Radio: ESPN 1000 AM, 670 AM The Score (Cubs), WRTO 1200 AM (Spanish)
Lineups:
| Cubs | White Sox | |
|---|---|---|
| Pete Crow-Armstrong, CF | 1 | Chase Meidroth, SS |
| Kyle Tucker, RF | 2 | Miguel Vargas, 3B |
| Seiya Suzuki, LF | 3 | Edgar Quero, C |
| Michael Busch, 1B | 4 | Luis Robert Jr., CF |
| Dansby Swanson, SS | 5 | Andrew Vaughn, DH |
| Moises Ballestros, DH | 6 | Lenyn Sosa, 2B |
| Nico Hoerner, 2B | 7 | Tim Elko, 1B |
| Jacob Amaya, C | 8 | Joshua Palacios, RF |
| Vidal Bruján, 3B | 9 | Michael A. Taylor, LF |
| Matthew Boyd | SP | Sean Burke |
