The Cleveland Guardians will turn to veteran right-hander Aaron Civale on Sunday as they try to salvage a split of their four-game weekend series against the host Chicago White Sox.
It’s as good a position as any, considering Civale (4-2, 2.54 ERA) is coming off his longest outing of the season.
On Tuesday, Civale defeated the Kansas City Royals for the second time this month behind eight innings of one-run ball with five hits, two walks and five strikeouts.
“I’ll say it again: Every time I go out there as a starter, I’m trying to go as deep into the game as I can,” Civale said. “The more rested our bullpen is, the better they’re going to be whenever they have to go out there and pick us up. It’s always great to have a night like that.”
Civale is enjoying his best month this season. In five July starts, he is 2-0 with a 1.72 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 31 1/3 innings.
The Guardians would benefit from a deep outing from a member of their rotation. Cleveland starters have worked a combined nine innings over the past two games, both Guardians losses. The White Sox outscored the Guardians 10-2 in those games.
“We’ll come back tomorrow, you know, try to put some traffic on base and try to score some runs,” Guardians bench coach DeMarlo Hale said. “I mean, you go through games like this.”
Hale managed most of Saturday’s game after manager Terry Francona was ejected in the middle of the first inning.
Francona wasn’t in the dugout to witness White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson hit a leadoff home run en route to a three-hit day in Chicago’s 7-2 win. It was Anderson’s long-awaited first home run of the season.
Chicago collected 12 hits in the game. Andrew Vaughn also went deep, but Anderson’s long ball set the tone while snapping his home-run drought of more than one year.
Anderson’s homer was his first since July 15, 2022, at Minnesota, a span of 419 plate appearances.
“I was more so worried about getting my swing back, not really worried about homers,” he said. “You’ve got to get in your legs. It was at a point where I was feeling I wasn’t in them. I kept working and still working trying to master it.”
Anderson has 10 multi-hit games in July as he aims to continue a second-half turnaround after dealing with various injuries.
“I’m definitely a step closer to feeling back fully healthy,” he said. “I think you go through these moments to kind of see what’s on the other side.”
Eloy Jimenez extended his hitting streak to nine games with an RBI single in the seventh inning.
Chicago will send right-hander Michael Kopech to the mound on Sunday. Kopech (4-9, 4.44 ERA) has struggled in three July starts covering 11 1/3 innings, going 1-2 with a 7.15 ERA.
Kopech defeated the Guardians in Cleveland on May 24, pitching seven shutout innings with two hits, one walk and nine strikeouts. In seven career appearances against Cleveland, including three starts, he is 1-1 with a 3.05 ERA.
Civale is 4-3 with a 4.83 ERA in nine career starts against the White Sox.
–Field Level Media
