What a difference a year makes, seriously. The White Sox, who dropped a brutal 102 games last season, are now sitting pretty, a game and a half clear at the top of their division. First place in the AL Central Rock Fight is *first place*, and nobody in baseball can just assume this squad is rolling over for the Yankees this week. This isn’t last year’s team; these guys have proven they can play.
The AL Central Rock Fight Just Got A New Leader
Let’s be real, the White Sox transformation is wild. They were in the wilderness in 2025, but now they’ve got a couple real stars, and five hitters in the lineup are putting up plus production, with Miguel Vargas at third base leading the charge. Their rotation? It’s bouncing between solid and quite good. You can genuinely see the pieces set for a good baseball team. And the Yankees? They can’t afford to take these guys lightly, especially with Cody Bellinger sidelined with a bad hamstring since Sunday. Another All-Star-caliber player is out, so the Yankees’ pitching staff has gotta carry the load, big time. Luckily, they’ve got the three guys you want starting this series, a good preview of a potential playoff deployment, and even their fourth guy is coming off a damn good outing.
Fried’s Return vs. Schultz’s Struggles, Cole’s Homer Problem vs. Kay
Tonight’s matchup is crucial. Max Fried is back on the mound for the Yankees after roaring back into the rotation last week against the Pirates. He threw five innings, a 7:1 K:BB ratio even on a limited pitch count, and dropped his season ERA below 3.00. Early concerns about his bone bruise? Assuaged, for sure. He’s facing a White Sox side that’s only relatively mediocre against lefties, with a 98 wRC+. On the other side is Noah Schultz, a former first-round pick from 2022, who hasn’t really found his footing in the bigs yet. His four-seam/sinker combo is mediocre, but the real issue is his complete lack of secondary stuff. We’re talking one of the worst sweepers in baseball paired with one of the worst changeups. For a Yankees team that’s dead set on a lefty-specialist lineup, they’re gonna hunt heaters and spit on everything else.
Then comes Tuesday with Gerrit Cole for the Yankees. “Dadbod Cole” might be past his Cy Young frontrunner days, but he’s been solid enough, outside of two rocky starts after Tommy John surgery. His last outing against Pittsburgh was a clinic: two homers, only two other hits, 11 strikeouts, and zero walks in seven innings. He’s got the lowest walk rate of his career across 11 starts, which is awesome. *But* that’s also paired with the second-highest home run rate he’s ever posted. He fills up the zone, no doubt, but hasn’t figured out how to manage contact quality, and guess what? The White Sox can elevate the ball. They’ll be facing Anthony Kay, formerly of the Blue Jays, who hasn’t exactly had the best 2026, boasting only a 9-point separation in his K-BB rate.
These next two games are absolutely huge. Can the Yankees pitching staff hold it down without Bellinger? Can they absolutely feast on Schultz’s struggling secondary stuff? And can the White Sox capitalize on Cole’s homer problem? It’s appointment viewing for anyone who loves some gritty baseball.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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