White Sox at Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox just suffered through a terrible weekend in their return home, failing to take advantage of a team below them in the standings while falling below .500 at Fenway Park. The defending champions will get another shot to win a series at home when they host the Chicago White Sox in the opener of a three-game series on Monday.
Boston, which travels to London to take on the New York Yankees this weekend, squandered a 6-0 lead in a loss on Saturday to the Toronto Blue Jays and was crushed 6-1 in the rubber match on Sunday to fall to 18-19 in its own park. "We still have to get better," Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters. "...There's nothing specific about our game that jumps out. It's just that we've been inconsistent, and we need to be a lot better. This is a place - we have to take advantage of it and we're not doing that." The White Sox are enduring their own slump with losses in five of the last seven and dropped a 7-4 decision in the rubber match of a three-game series at Texas on Sunday. Chicago will put its best foot forward on Monday with ace Lucas Giolito taking the mound opposite Boston lefty Eduardo Rodriguez.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, MLB Network, WGN (Chicago), NESN (Boston)
PITCHING MATCHUP: White Sox RH Lucas Giolito (10-2, 2.74 ERA) vs. Red Sox LH Eduardo Rodriguez (8-4, 4.71)
Giolito had a streak of eight wins in as many starts come to an end at the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday, when he was knocked around for six runs on seven hits - three home runs - over 4 1/3 innings. The 24-year-old allowed a total of one run in 21 innings over his three previous turns and three or fewer runs in each of his previous 10. Giolito was held out of the decision against Boston on May 2, when he was charged with three runs and seven hits in five frames.
Rodriguez is still trying to find some consistency and is coming off an uneven performance in a win at Minnesota on Wednesday. The 26-year-old Venezuela native struck out nine over seven innings but was reached for four runs on eight hits - two homers - and three walks to mark the third time in the last six games that he surrendered at least two home runs. Rodriguez was on his game at Chicago on May 4, allowing one run and six hits over six innings to earn a win.
WALK-OFFS
1. Red Sox UTIL Brock Holt (hamstring) left Sunday's game and is day-to-day.
2. White Sox CF Leury Garcia has hit safely in each of the last eight games.
3. Boston rookie INF Michael Chavis recorded 15 strikeouts in the last six games.