Gamethread: White Sox at Royals

An Opening Day sneak peek

The official countdown is on! White Sox Opening Day is just one week away. This afternoon, we’re getting a little preview of the home opener as Garrett Crochet takes the mound for his last spring training appearance.

On Monday, the amazing Sarah Langs tweeted out this little nugget about Crochet’s Opening Day nod.

The 24-year-old pitcher has performed exceptionally well in this year’s Cactus League. He has made one start and three appearances out of the bullpen without giving up any earned runs over nine innings. With a WHIP of .078 and 12 strikeouts, one could argue that this big lefty has rightfully earned the Opening Day honor. His impressive 96 mph fastball has been generating a lot of swings and misses, which could lead to a thrilling summer on the South Side for both Garrett and the fans.

Journeyman Jordan Lyles is set to take the mound for the Kansas City Royals today. Unfortunately, he hasn’t performed well so far this spring. In two starts, he’s only pitched five innings, giving up nine runs, resulting in a 0-1 record, 9.00 ERA, and 1.80 WHIP. The Royals signed Lyles in December 2022, and he was a part of their starting rotation for the 2023 season. However, the 33-year-old had a tough time of it last year and finished with a 6-17 record and a 6.28 ERA over 177 2⁄3 innings.

Here’s how Pedro Grifol puts them out there today. The Opening Day lineup likely looks very similar to this one, probably subbing Eloy Jiménez in at DH, however.

And for the Kansas City Royals:

There is no television broadcast today, but you can listen to the Royals radio call at 3:05 p.m. on mlb.com.