Mmm, what do we have here, folks? The Cleveland Guardians playing against the Chicago White Sox at the Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago. A decent venue for our batters, I must admit.
First on the pitcher’s mound for the Guardians, we've got Ben Lively, who's been decent this year with a 4.20 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, and a fair amount of strikeouts. It isn’t exactly the stuff of legends, but he's giving us something. On the other hand, we've got White Sox's Nick Nastrini, who is finding the going tough with his 8.03 ERA and 2.01 WHIP. If anything, today might just be a good day to test how fireproof his uniform is.
The Guardians have a formidable arsenal with Brennan, Rocchio, and Noel, all of whom have been stringing hits together like a baker assembling a pastry pyramid. The White Sox on their end have managed to swipe some impressive performances from Sheets, Vaughn, and Benintendi. It's a bit like comparing a lion to a house cat, but they both have their claws.
When we hark back to the prior duels between these two, the Guardians have been the most frequent victor, although each game swung back and forth like a pendulum in an earthquake. As for the season records, the tone is more somber for the White Sox, I won't sugarcoat it. The Guardians are the queen bee with an impressive 81 wins to their name, while the White Sox are more like worker bees, with a rather distressing 33 wins.
Recent games? More of the same. It's like the Guardians can't stop dancing even when the music has stopped. On the flip side, the White Sox are plucking at guitar strings hoping some fuji music would stem from the chaos.
Without further ado, allow me to present my prediction, which - I will admit - isn't as surprising as well... anything.
Albert’s Prediction: Cleveland Guardians by 4