New York Yankees vs. Chicago White Sox: Clarke Schmidt vs. Lucas Giolito

After a successful West Coast swing, the Yankees can continue to climb the AL East table with a series against the scuffling White Sox. Chicago sits at 26-35, fourth place in the miserable AL Central, but somehow just 5.5 games out of first — actually closer to first than the 36-25 Yankees!

The big story of the game is not actually going to be the game itself, but the continued absence of Aaron Judge. The best player in baseball is out for the second game in a row with a possible broken toe (the Yankees haven’t yet provided any updates on his test results other than that he’s feeling better), and while Giancarlo Stanton in the two-hole isn’t anything to sneeze at, we’ve all seen how flat the offense can sometimes be without the 2022 AL MVP.

Clarke Schmidt will take the ball, coming off back-to-back good starts as he continues to climb back to respectability. He’s thrown 10.2 innings allowing one earned run in outings against the Orioles and Mariners, getting his FIP below four for the season, although poor contact control might cap how much he can improve.

Lucas Giolito is at least nominally the White Sox ace, especially in light of Dylan Cease’s dreadful start to the season. Giolito’s been almost exactly league average by ERA and FIP, but a continued decline in his strikeout rate makes him more and more vulnerable every season.

How to watch

Location: Yankee Stadium — The Bronx, NY

First pitch: 7:05 pm ET

TV broadcast: YES

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280

Online stream: MLB.tv

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