Dearly beloved, we are gathered here to talk some smack about the Pittsburgh Pirates squaring up against the Chicago White Sox. Guaranteed Rate Field, a darling for the batters, is the field of battle today, and those poor pitchers might be dreading it just a tad.
Speaking of pitchers, Pittsburgh is putting Marco Gonzales on the mound. He's got a decent ERA of 2.65 this season but a rather mundane 5.8 strikeouts-per-nine-innings. I'd say he's got the charisma of a tuna fish sandwich, but that might be an insult to the sandwich.
On the flip side, the White Sox are bringing out Garrett Crochet, who comes with a slightly higher ERA of 3.10, but hey, at least he's flirting with a double-digit strikeouts-per-nine-innings. Makes for at least a little spice in our sports soup.
Let's dig deep into their player line-ups. Pittsburgh's star attractions are Rowdy Tellez and Bryan Reynolds. Tellez is doing well with a .325 batting average, 15 RBIs and 6 home runs. Reynolds, batting at .319 with 21 RBIs and 9 home runs, seems to be having quite a bash. Oneil Cruz is also a guy worth mentioning.
For the White Sox, we have Mr. Andrew Vaughn, a gentleman yielding a .283 batting average, 21 RBIs, and 5 home runs. He's backed up by Nicky Lopez and Luis Robert, who both might not be setting the world on fire, but are managing.
Looking at their recent run-ins, the Pirates and the White Sox seem to have a scorching relationship, with the Pirates winning 2 out of their last 3 games. But, can past performance guarantee future results? As my old gym coach used to say, "if ifs and buts were candy and nuts, we'd all have a great Christmas."
Adding to the drama, the Pirates are sitting at a 45-48 record, whereas the White Sox, bless their hearts, are at a more dismal 27-68.
When it comes down to recent performances, the Pirates have won 3 out of their last 5 games while the White Sox have managed to pull 2 wins from their hat from their previous 5 games.
After considering all these heart-pounding factors that keep us up late at night, it's prediction time.
Albert’s Prediction: Pittsburgh Pirates by 2