The Yankees come into the weekend on top of the American League standings, facing the White Sox, who can be found at the very bottom of those standings. Naturally, anything besides a sweep will come as a disappointment to fans. The Yankees are looking to keep their success against the AL Central; having swept the Twins, they are now 8-1 against the division.
After beginning the season 3-22, the White Sox have managed to rebound to a 14-30 record. In their initial 25 games, they appeared poised to rival some of the all-time worst teams; however, it now seems they are merely your typical, run-of-the-mill contenders for 100 losses. FanGraphs’ projected standings system now forecasts them finishing at 62-100. They have not been a stomping mat in May, having won three out of their last four series, and going 8-6 this month.
As an offense, an incomplete list of things the team ranks last in are: batting average (.216), on-base percentage (.276), and slugging (.335). You will see in the lineup this weekend recognizable veteran players who will likely pop up during trade deadline season like Tommy Pham, Eloy Jiménez, and Paul DeJong, not to mention the currently injured Luis Robert Jr. A young bright spot so far has been catcher Korey Lee. The franchise’s 2019 first-round selection has an .835 OPS.
The Yankees are catching a break missing Chicago’s burgeoning ace, Garrett Crochet, this series. The 24-year-old has dealt back-to-back shutout wins, and leads the majors in strikeouts per nine innings among qualified starters.
Friday: Nestor Cortes vs. Mike Clevinger (7:05 ET)
Nestor Cortes was not sharp with his control in his last outing in a 7-2 loss against Tampa. He was often behind on counts, and missing with his fastball too high above the zone throughout his start. He surrendered four runs in 5.1 innings via two home runs. His home and road splits have been dramatic this season, with a 1.59 ERA in four starts at Yankee Stadium, and a 6.75 road ERA in five starts. Overall, Cortes is hovering around a league-average 98 ERA+. Despite mostly solid outings from Cortes, the offense has not supported him much on the mound. The Yankees are 3-6 when Cortes has started, his official win-loss record 1-4.
Mike Clevinger got a late start to the season, re-signing with Chicago with a one-year deal on April 4th (much to the justified chagrin of our pals at South Side Sox). This will be his third start of 2024; his season debut was rocky, allowing four runs, walking four with no strikeouts, and lasting two innings on 54 pitches. His second start went better, giving up one run off a homer, striking out five and allowing no walks. Clevinger last season held a 3.77 ERA (117 ERA+) in 22 starts during his first season with Chicago.
Saturday: Luis Gil vs. Brad Keller (1:05 ET)
Luis Gil is looking to continue his fantastic month of May. Over his last three starts, he has given up just one run. He has gone at least six frames in those three starts. As our Josh Diemert pointed out this week, we may see the Yankees slowdown Gil’s usage to control his season workload. For now, with a 4-1 record, 2.51 ERA, and 1.09 WHIP, he has continued to prove himself as more than an emergency fifth starter filling in with Gerrit Cole out.
After starting the season in a long-relief role, manager Pedro Grifol announced that he was moving Brad Keller to the rotation, swapping roles with Michael Soroka who was reverted to the bullpen. Keller has a 2.84 ERA over 12.1 innings. In his one spot start on May 3rd, he threw 4.2 innings surrendering three runs in a loss against the Cardinals. Keller has increased his slider usage this season and it appears to be working out so far. Using it as his most common pitch, throwing it 39.2 percent of the time, has resulted in a .182 batting average against.
Sunday: Carlos Rodón vs. Chris Flexen (1:35 ET)
Chris Flexen is on a good stretch, yielding a 1.61 ERA in his past five appearances, which combines three starts and two long-relief appearances. However, with a 4.46 ERA this season, the Yankee should be able to strike against him. His most common pitch, a four-seamer which averages 91.5 mph, has a batting average against of .292, and a -3 per Baseball Savant’s Run Value.
Rodón is coming off a great start against the Twins on Tuesday. Rodón pitched six innings with the lone damage being a homer to lead off the game. His changeup worked well in his last start, causing four whiffs out of the nine times he threw it. His offspeed pitches this season still hold a -3 Run Value. It will be interesting to see if his newly added changeup progresses throughout the season as he becomes more comfortable using it. He also notably has not given up a walk in his past three starts.
