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It has been a rough start to the season for both the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago White Sox as each squad enters Friday’s clash in Cincinnati in fourth place in their respective divisions.
Chicago White Sox vs. Cincinnati Reds (-110, 9)
Across the board, the White Sox have had their fair share of woes and could use a good start from Lance Lynn, who has a 7.16 ERA with 4.1 walks and 2.2 home runs per nine innings allowed across six starts this season.
The White Sox are 0-6 in Lynn’s starts this season with five of those losses coming by three or more runs due in large part to players around him getting off to similar slow starts.
The White Sox lineup is averaging 3.6 runs per game away from home this season, the second-fewest among American League teams, and has a road on-base percentage of .284, which ranks 28th among the 30 MLB teams.
The team’s bullpen has also been an issue, ranking 29th in the league with a 6.68 ERA while the Reds rank 13th with a 3.79 bullpen ERA.
Getting the start for Cincinnati on Friday is Hunter Greene, who has allowed three runs or fewer in all six of his starts this season and overall has a 2.89 ERA with 12.4 strikeouts per nine innings.
A key to Greene’s success this season has been keeping the ball in the yard, allowing just one home run in 29 innings this season after allowing 1.7 home runs per nine innings last season.
The Reds play in one of the best MLB hitters’ ballparks in Great American Ball Park and have taken advantage with over 5.1 runs per game at home compared to 3.4 runs per game on the road.
The offensive success at home has helped the Reds to a 9-6 record at home and with the improvement of Greene on the mound this season, the White Sox will fall to 0-7 in Lance Lynn’s starts on Friday.