Mets at White Sox
Jacob deGrom has not posted back-to-back victories since his first two starts of the season, a streak he can put to an end when the New York Mets continue a three-game interleague series at the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night. The reigning National League Cy Young Award winner has been stellar since the All-Star break, allowing one run over 19 innings.
Jeff McNeil, bidding for the NL batting title, picked a good time for his first homer off a left-handed pitcher this season with a tiebreaking two-run blast in the 11th inning of Tuesday's 5-2 win for New York. Michael Conforto followed with an insurance blast, his third homer in as many games, as the Mets extended their winning streak to a season-high five games. Shortstop Tim Anderson, returning to the lineup for the first time in five weeks, delivered a tying sacrifice fly in the ninth before Chicago tumbled to its 14th defeat in 18 games. Slumping Jose Abreu is 2-for-24 in his last six games after going hitless in five at-bats, including grounding into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded.
TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, SNY (New York), NBCS Chicago
PITCHING MATCHUP: Mets RH Jacob deGrom (6-7, 2.86 ERA) vs. White Sox RH Lucas Giolito (11-5, 3.52)
DeGrom is flashing the form that won the Cy Young Award a year ago, improving to 2-0 with a 1.04 ERA in four starts this month by blanking San Diego on four hits over seven innings on Thursday. He had to settle for a no-decision despite a gem in his previous outing at San Francisco, striking out 10 and yielding only three hits over seven scoreless innings. DeGrom has allowed two runs or fewer in 11 of his last 12 outings and is 4-3 with a 2.51 ERA in 11 road starts.
Since beating the New York Yankees on June 14 to lower his ERA to 2.22 and extend his unbeaten streak to 11 starts, Giolito has started to wobble with a 1-4 record and 6.38 over his last seven outings. He was reached for a season-high seven runs on seven hits, including four homers, over five innings in a loss to Minnesota on Thursday. Seeking his first win in more than a month, Giolito is 0-3 with a 7.06 ERA in July and owns a 5-3 mark and 4.47 ERA at Guaranteed Rate Field.
WALK-OFFS
1. Mets SS Amed Rosario collected four hits Tuesday to boost his road batting average to .311.
2. White Sox 3B Yoan Moncada is listed as day-to-day after exiting Tuesday's game with right hamstring tightness.
3. Mets 2B Robinson Cano is 1-for-26 since his three-homer game last week.