Sean Burke and Ryan Weathers get the ball at 7:05 PM ET in the Bronx, and neither guy is showing up with a clean recent resume. Burke is 3-4 with a 4.15 ERA but coughed up 4 ER on 5 walks in 4 innings against the Dodgers last time out. Weathers is 2-5, 4.36 and just got tagged for 6 ER in 4.1 by Toronto, the latest entry in what's become a real home-run problem.
The Yankees are doing this without Aaron Judge, who's out 4-to-6 weeks with a stress fracture of his right first rib, and they don't seem to care. New York is 8-4 since losing Judge, and Cody Bellinger, Ben Rice, and Paul Goldschmidt have absolutely carried the load — Bellinger went a triple shy of the cycle on Wednesday, and Goldschmidt has 3 homers in his last 4. Aaron Boone called this group 'a deeper team than we've been in a lot of years,' and through 2 games of this series, that read holds up.
Chicago, meanwhile, is dealing with the opposite vibe. They're 38-34, which is genuinely a fun number for this franchise, but they've dropped 4 of 5 and just gave up 22 runs in 2 nights. Will Venable's group keeps grinding — he's been described around the team as 'metronomic' through the skid — but Burke walking 5 in 4 innings against Los Angeles is the exact kind of start that turns this from a 4-run loss into a 10-run loss in the Bronx.
- Day-To-DaySean Newcomb RP — Newcomb notched a save against the Royals on Thursday, allowing one hit and striking out one batter over two scoreless innings.
- Day-To-DayHagen Smith SP — Smith will be shut down for two weeks after being diagnosed with a left shoulder impingement, James Fegan of SoxMachine.com reports.
- Day-To-DayTim Elko 1B — no
- Day-To-DayMason Adams RP — The White Sox announced that Adams underwent successful Tommy John surgery Wednesday, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILMunetaka Murakami 1B — White Sox manager Will Venable said Monday that Murakami (hamstring) stayed back in Chicago during the team's road trip and was given a platelet-rich plasma injection, James Fegan of SoxMachine.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILNoah Schultz SP — Schultz (knee) will begin a minor-league rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte on Tuesday, James Fegan of SoxMachine.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILJordan Hicks RP — Hicks (lat) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte on Saturday, James Fegan of SoxMachine.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILTyler Gilbert RP — The White Sox placed Gilbert on the 15-day injured list Wednesday with a left shoulder impingement.
- Day-To-DayEric Reyzelman SP — no
- Day-To-DayTravis MacGregor SP — MacGregor underwent Tommy John surgery last September and will miss the entire 2019 season, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILTrent Grisham CF — Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Tuesday that Grisham has been diagnosed with a "moderate" right hamstring strain, Brendan Kuty of The Athletic reports.
- 10-Day-ILGiancarlo Stanton DH — The Yankees announced that Stanton (calf) reinjured his calf and will have a slow week of activities, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILAustin Wells C — Wells (head) has been sent to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to begin a rehab assignment.
- 10-Day-ILAaron Judge RF — The Yankees announced Thursday that Judge has a stress fracture of his first rib on his right side and will be sidelined for 4-to-6 weeks before being re-evaluated, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILMax Fried SP — Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Friday that Fried (elbow) will throw off a mound Saturday, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports.
- 60-Day-ILClarke Schmidt SP — Schmidt (elbow) has been "feeling great" during recent mound sessions and could start throwing to hitters by the end of June, per MLB.com.
The injury list is where this matchup gets weird. The Yankees are missing Judge, Giancarlo Stanton (calf, again), Trent Grisham (moderate hamstring strain), Austin Wells (on rehab), and Max Fried — and they're still 45-27 and rolling. The White Sox are without Kyle Teel, Noah Schultz, Hagen Smith (shoulder impingement, shut down 2 weeks), Jordan Hicks, Austin Hays, and Munetaka Murakami. One of those rosters is built to absorb it. The other is finding out it's not.
The pitching matchup itself doesn't scream low-scoring. Weathers has allowed multiple homers in 4 of his last 5 starts and 7 long balls over his last 3, and Bellinger, Rice, and Goldschmidt are all swinging like they're tracking him. Burke can miss bats (6 K his last time out) but the 5 walks are the tell — this Yankees lineup, even without Judge, isn't the one you want to get into deep counts with.