Last night’s strategy of falling so far behind that the other team let their batting practice coach close it out might have been great for padding stats and making the score look close, but not so great for actually winning. Perhaps today the White Sox will try something different to snap their five-game losing streak.
It will be Martín Pérez trying to knock the Orioles down to earth while also trying to recover the secret of how he did so well in his first games after four months on the IL. In four games in August, he gave up just three earned runs in 21 2/3 innings, but in two September starts, he’s been touched for nine runs in 10 2/3. To stop the losing streak, he’ll need to improve on a 4.66 ERA against Baltimore.
The Orioles counter with huge — 6’8”, 260 lb — righty Tyler Wells, who has also had a short season, recovering from a UCL injury suffered last year. He’s only had two major league starts, but they’ve been good ones: three runs on just six hits and one walk over 11 2/3 innings. Wells will face a Sox lineup that has Colson Montgomery in the cleanup spot despite his being 2-for-21 with 14 strikeouts in the past week.
Despite how long Pérez has been around the majors — since 2012 if you’re keeping track — the Orioles lineup has only had a total of six lifetime at-bats against him, so there’s not much to be learned there.
First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 Central on another beautiful day for baseball, sunny and 79°, with light wind in from left. Tune into the usual broadcast suspects.