Gamethread: Nationals (11-16) at White Sox (11-15)

Lake Michigan this morning indicated that pop-ups in today’s game could be a challenge. Having smartly timed their turn to lead correctly in a seesaw game last night, the White Sox try to pick up another victory over the Nationals this afternoon, albeit under much different conditions. A nor’easter that hit overnight has dropped the temperature more than 20° from yesterday and produced 25 mph wind gusts that should come from left to right throughout the game.

This is a game where the pitching matchup certainly looks to favor the Sox. They have Noah Schultz on the mound for his third major league start, his last outing being an outstanding five-inning, one hit, one walk (! ), six K, one-run victory over the A’s.

The Nats counter with 29-year old righty Jake Irvin, who has an awful 6. 00 ERA despite opponents only hitting . 220 against him, his big problem being 11 walks in 24 innings, though he went five innings without a walk against the Braves last time out.

Irvin has a six-pitch repertoire, but tops out 92ish. Combined with an inability to hit his spots, that may prove a problem for Irvin against the power-surging Sox lineup: Should Edgar Quero need to leave the game for whatever reason his backup is now Drew Romo, called up from Charlotte, with Reese McGuire DFA’d. Romo only hit .