DETROIT -- The White Sox lineup against left-handed starters has gone through many evolutions this year, what with Everson Pereira's various injuries and Derek Hill getting traded. So it might surprise to learn that the Sox offense has actually been awesome against lefties. Their collective 111 wRC+ against southpaws (.242/.329/.432) is the fourth-best mark in the league.
A lot of that is Miguel Vargas hitting .325/.453/.662 against lefties this season, so the White Sox are trying to maximize that element against the reigning Cy Young Award winner.
"Just want to mix it up and really just give Miguel the opportunity to get as many at-bats as possible against Skubal tonight," said Will Venable. "We're going to try it today and see how it looks, see how it feels. See if there's any feedback that we can get to help us make a decision for next time. But for today, that's what we're doing. Not a long-term thing. I don't think we're really married to any one lineup or one structure. We just evaluate where we're at with the guys today and want to make a decision. The next time we face a lefty, it's a possibility if we like what we see today."
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Venable professed zero knowledge of Saturday's starting pitcher pregame, which extended to whether anyone will be called up to provide more depth/length/what have you, for a likely bullpen game.
That stands in contrast to the specificity Venable has to offer about rehabbing injured players. Kyle Teel is scheduled to play nine innings in the field each of the next two days, which is typically what rehabbing players are tasked with proving they can do before being returned to the major league roster.
"Depending on how he recovers, we'll make a decision," Venable said, which certainly leaves the door open to Teel returning next week.
However the Sox get through Saturday with their pitching, they won't be able to just drop in Noah Schultz to plug the hole on the next turn through the rotation. Venable said Schultz is slated to get through three to four innings, with 50-60 pitches allotted for his next rehab outing on Sunday, and thus will need another outing with Triple-A Charlotte before he's an option to return to Chicago.
Speaking of injured pitchers, Justin Verlander was scratched from his planned start Sunday due to a hamstring strain, which will re-insert Keider Montero into the Tigers rotation. Based on the Sox' most recent encounter with Montero, that seems like the superior option.
Speaking of injured players who are weeks away from returning, Munetaka Murakami has begun some low-intensity swinging in the batting cage. He is not facing high velocity yet.
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Brandon Eisert is opening for Erick Fedde in this one. This will be Fedde's 15th appearance on the year. He has eight starts.
First pitch: White Sox at Tigers
TV: CHSN
Radio: ESPN 1000 AM
Lineups:
| Tigers | White Sox | |
|---|---|---|
| Kevin McGonigle, SS | 1 | Miguel Vargas, 1B |
| Dillon Dingler, C | 2 | Randal Grichuk, DH |
| Matt Vierling, CF | 3 | Chase Meidroth, 2B |
| Riley Greene, LF | 4 | Colson Montgomery, 3B |
| Spencer Torkelson, 1B | 5 | Edgar Quero, C |
| Kerry Carpenter, DH | 6 | Junior Perez, RF |
| Hao-Yu Lee, 2B | 7 | Sam Antonacci, LF |
| Colt Keith, 3B | 8 | Luisangel Acuña, SS |
| Trei Cruz, RF | 9 | Tristan Peters, CF |
| Tarik Skubal | SP | Brandon Eisert |
