Andre Rienzo is undefeated, so the Sox should be fine - Lineups & Preview 5/25

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The White Sox could stand to make it a bit easier on their fans to build a big lead today, maybe moreso than other days. Robin Ventura has announced that Ronald Belisario--back to being a pariah again after two appearances--will remain as the closer.

The man to carry the Sox to this mystical lead against Masahiro Tanaka is Andre Rienzo, who seems to have flown under the radar. He's both been surprisingly bad to not be discussed: roughly a 1.5 K/BB ratio, six home runs in 36 innings, ~40% groundball rate while averaging under six innings per start. And he's been surprisingly successful: the White Sox have won all seven games he's appeared in. He's magic. He's Rick Helling. This game is a mortal lock because of his mere presence

Recently, the Sox have even been winning games because of Rienzo, rather than around him. He's allowed just seven hits over his last 12.1 innings, and was overpowering for stretches in his last start vs. Kansas City, striking out eight, throwing his curve for a strike but also getting whiffs with multiple pitches.

Inconsistency is kind of the name of the game with Rienzo, but usually it's contained within the same night. A second-straight complete outing would be a real eyebrow raiser.

White Sox Lineup:

  1. Adam Eaton - CF
  2. Gordon Beckham - 2B
  3. Conor Gillaspie - 3B
  4. Dayan Viciedo - RF
  5. Adam Dunn - 1B
  6. Alexei Ramirez - SS
  7. Paul Konerko - DH
  8. Alejandro De Aza - LF
  9. Tyler Flowers - C

Andre Rienzo, SP

There's still plenty to like visually with some of the changes Dayan Viciedo has made at the plate, but results indicate it's not enough. He's struck out 22 times this month to just four walks, and still can't make the raw power a force to be reckoned with in games. He's hitting .221/.272/.372 in May.

Tyler Flowers' slow decline from his start has been more palatable, Covering the whole plate and poking the ball to all fields hardly seems like a natural use of his skill set, but he's hitting .250/.333/.393 for the month, which will do fine.

New York Yankees Lineup:

  1. Brett Gardner - LF
  2. Derek Jeter - SS
  3. Jacoby Ellsbury - CF
  4. Mark Teixiera - 1B
  5. Brian McCann - C
  6. Yangervis Solarte - 3B
  7. Alfonso Soriano - RF
  8. Ichiro Suzuki - DH
  9. Brian Roberts

Masahiro Tanaka, SP

 

Where to Watch: 1:10pm CT on CSN Chicago

 

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