Mariners at White Sox
The first half of the Chicago White Sox's six-game homestand went about as poorly as they could have imagined, but the second half is off to a fine start. Fresh off their first victory in nearly two weeks, the White Sox attempt to win two in a row for the first time since the beginning of the season when they continue their three-game set against the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday.
Chicago was pounded by Houston by a combined score of 27-2 at Guaranteed Rate Field over the weekend, mustering only four extra-base hits and 11 singles in three games. The White Sox wasted little time taking out their frustrations on the Mariners, however, scoring seven times in the first two innings while Jose Abreu homered twice to pace an 18-hit attack - including eight for extra bases - and snap a seven-game losing streak. Seattle took two of three at Texas over the weekend but has dropped five of seven overall, although Mitch Haniger is setting a blistering pace offensively of late. The 27-year-old is batting .478 with eight RBIs during a six-game hitting streak and has homered in four straight contests.
TV: 5:10 p.m. ET, ROOT Northwest (Seattle), NBCS Chicago
PITCHING MATCHUP: Mariners LH Marco Gonzales (1-2, 5.94 ERA) vs. White Sox RH Chris Volstad (0-0, 4.70)
Gonzales failed to make it through five innings for the third time in as many tries Thursday against Houston, leaving after permitting three unearned runs and striking out eight while making 79 pitches through 4 1/2 frames. The outing was a step forward for the Gonzaga product, who surrendered eight runs and 13 hits over his previous two turns spanning 5 2/3 innings. Opponents are batting .329 against Gonzales, who will be facing Chicago for the first time in his career.
Volstad, who only has made two starts among his 17 big-league appearances since 2012, will get the nod Tuesday after four relief outings to begin the season. The 31-year-old Floridian has been mostly effective in three of his four games and worked around some trouble Saturday against Houston, giving up only a solo homer among the five hits he allowed across three innings. Volstad beat the Mariners the only time he has faced them in 2011 but is only 34-53 with a 4.92 ERA in 125 overall career turns.
WALK-OFFS
1. The White Sox opened Monday's game with seven straight hits, becoming the first team to do so since Colorado accomplished the feat on Sept. 17, 2014.
2. After breaking out last season with 16 homers and 47 RBIs in 96 games, Haniger is second in the majors in home runs (eight) and RBIs (23) through 21 contests in 2018.
3. OF Avisail Garcia (leg) was diagnosed with a right hamstring strain after pulling up while running out a grounder in the second inning of the opener and will be re-evaluated on Tuesday.