None of that has slowed either club down much. Both teams arrive with winning records well past the 100-game mark, and both have been the two most talked-about turnaround stories in the sport this summer — Chicago trying to complete one of the more remarkable single-season reversals in recent memory, Boston playing like a club that fully intends to make October noise.
Chicago's group has quietly caught fire of its own, going 4-1 in its last 5 with wins over the Yankees and a series in Tampa that included a 9-1 laugher. It's the kind of stretch that's kept the White Sox squarely in the mix rather than fading as the calendar flips to August, and it sets up a genuinely compelling series opener rather than a get-right game for either side.
The injury math still favors Boston getting through this stretch. Roman Anthony is progressing in his rehab, Curtis Mead's wrist fracture will be reevaluated in a month, and while the rotation is missing Garrett Crochet, Tanner Houck and Johan Oviedo, this lineup has scored at will lately regardless of who's on the mound. Chicago's issue is thinner depth — the outfield picture in particular is banged up with Montgomery day-to-day and both Austin Hays and Brooks Baldwin still working back from injury.
It's a matchup of momentum against momentum, and with both bullpens getting real usage the last two weeks, this one has the look of a series that could tighten up fast even if the opener doesn't.