Red Sox at White Sox
The Chicago White Sox began a rebuilding effort over the winter, and the biggest move centered around shipping ace Chris Sale to the Boston Red Sox for a slew of prospects. Sale will return to Chicago for the first time and face off against his former team when the Red Sox visit for the second of a three-game series on Tuesday.
Sale is a Cy Young contender for Boston but the White Sox are happy with their haul in that deal, which included consensus top prospect second baseman Yoan Moncada and right-hander Michael Kopech, who regularly reaches 100 miles per hour with his fastball and ranks as one of the top pitching prospects in the minors. The White Sox remain stuck in between as a franchise, with several top prospects on the way and a roster full of veterans like Todd Frazier, Jose Abreu, James Shields, Jose Quintana and Melky Cabrera looking to win now. Quintana will try to bounce back from one of the worst outings of his career when he goes up against fellow southpaw Sale on Tuesday. The White Sox are on a roll with four wins in five games, while the Red Sox have dropped two straight following a six-game winning streak.
TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, NESN (Boston), CSN Chicago
PITCHING MATCHUP: Red Sox LH Chris Sale (5-2, 2.34 ERA) vs. White Sox LH Jose Quintana (2-6, 4.82)
Sale leads the majors with 101 strikeouts but had a string of eight straight starts logging double-digit punchouts come to an end when he struck out six in a win over Texas on Wednesday. The five-time All-Star allowed four runs - three earned - on six hits in 7 1/3 innings but finally got some support from his offense and earned the win in a 9-4 triumph. Sale should be familiar with the mound at Guaranteed Rate Field, where he is 42-24 with a 3.01 ERA in his career.
Quintana allowed one run on one hit over eight innings at Seattle on May 19 but could not match that effort Wednesday while getting crushed in Arizona. The Colombia native was rocked for eight runs on eight hits in 4 1/3 innings as his ERA jumped nearly a full run from 3.92 to 4.82. Quintana is undefeated in his career against Boston, building up a 3-0 record with a 2.87 ERA in seven starts.
WALK-OFFS
1. Red Sox 2B Dustin Pedroia will return to Boston for an MRI on his wrist after leaving Monday's game following a collision with White Sox 1B Jose Abreu.
2. Cabrera is 4-for-8 with two home runs and five RBIs in his last two games.
3. Boston RHP Carson Smith (elbow surgery) threw a bullpen session on Sunday and is scheduled for another on Tuesday.