Game Day Preview: White Sox Start Davis Martin In Rubber Match Against Angels
CHICAGO – The White Sox have pitched well through 18 innings to begin the 2025 season, and starter Davis Martin looks to continue that run against the Los Angeles Angels Sunday at Rate Field.
Chicago put together a complete performance on Opening Day, defeating the Angels 8-1 with six shutout innings from starter Sean Burke and home runs from three players. The pitching staff performed well again on Saturday as starter Jonathan Cannon hurled five scoreless innings. But a few minor mistakes in the eighth inning and quiet bats for most of the afternoon led to a 1-0 loss.
That sets up a series-deciding game Sunday at 1:10 p.m. CT, with White Sox starter Davis Martin facing off against Angels starter Jack Kochanowicz.
"I'm excited," Martin said Saturday. "I think the first one, it's definitely a little more nerve-wrecking than the rest. The first one of the year you want to set the tone for the year, but all in all excited and ready to roll."
Here's more information on Sunday's game.
How to watch White Sox vs. Angels
- Who: Chicago White Sox (1-1) vs. Los Angeles Angels (1-1)
- When: Sunday, March 30 at 1:10 p.m. CT
- Where: Rate Field in Chicago, Ill.
- TV: Chicago Sports Network (CHSN)
- Announcers: John Schriffen (play-by-play), Steve Stone (analyst), Brooke Fletcher (reporter)
- Radio: ESPN Chicago WMVP 1000 AM
- Announcers: Len Kasper (play-by-play), Darrin Jackson (analyst), Jeff Meller (pre and postgame show)
- Betting information: The Angels are favored by 1.5 runs, and the over/under is 8.5 runs. The White Sox money line odds are plus-114, according to the FanDuel Sportsbook on Saturday night.
- Weather: At 1 p.m. CT Sunday in Chicago, the forecast is 66 degrees with a 87% chance of thunderstorms and south-southwest winds at 15 miles per hour, according to weather.com.
Lineups
White Sox
- Nick Maton, DH
- Luis Robert, CF
- Andrew Benintendi, LF
- Andrew Vaughn, 1B
- Matt Thaiss, C
- Miguel Vargas, 3B
- Brooks Baldwin, 2B
- Jake Amaya, SS
- Travis Jankowski, RF
Maton is in the leadoff spot for the first time this season after Vargas led off the first two games.
"Just like the matchup for Nick," White Sox manager Will Venable said pregame. "Just trying to stack good things in a row. We like what he brings and his competitiveness and his ability to hit the fastball. We're gonna see a lot of fastballs in the zone, a lot of sinkers today, so we like that matchup for him leading us off."
Angels
- Taylor Ward, LF
- Nolan Schanuel, 1B
- Mike Trout, RF
- Jorge Soler, DH
- Yoan Moncada, 3B
- Travis D'Arnaud, C
- Luis Rengifo, 2B
- Tim Anderson, SS
- Kyren Paris, CF
Sunday's starting pitchers
(2024 stats)
- White Sox RHP Davis Martin: 63.1 IP, 4.83 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 19 BB, 48 K
- Angels RHP Jack Kochanowicz: 65.1 IP, 3.99 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 10 BB, 25 K
White Sox starter preview
Martin has been in the White Sox organization since 2018, when he was a 14th round pick out of Texas Tech. He made his MLB debut in May of 2022, but spent the entire 2023 season in Triple-A and moved between three minor league levels and the big leagues in 2024. He made the White Sox Opening Day roster for the first time in 2025, and he feels ready to go.
Martin had a promising spring training, allowing just one earned run in nine innings while striking out eight batters and walking just one. He's looking to maintain the consistency he built in the spring.
"In years past, sometimes it's been inconsistent at times, whether that be pitches, sequences, mechanics," Martin said. "But I think overall continued consistency in spring training from start one to start six, or whatever it was, was phenomenal. I just want to keep building on that and hopefully continue to build that consistency and take it all the way from March all the way to September."
Facing an Angels lineup with a few big-name sluggers, Martin knows he'll have to be careful in certain situations.
"They're good hitters. They're patient. They know what they want to do at the plate," Martin said. We just gotta try to attack their weaknesses and stay out of the hot zones. Obviously they got guys like Mike Trout and Soler in their lineup that are solid, really good players, and if you make a mistake they're gonna make you pay for it. So just really being locked in on some of those guys and execute our game plan."
News
The White Sox announced 10 roster moves Thursday, prior to Opening Day:
- Selected the contracts of right-handed pitcher Mike Clevinger, outfielder Travis Jankowski and infielder Nick Maton.
- Placed infielder Bryan Ramos (right elbow strain), Josh Rojas (right toe fracture) and outfielder Mike Tauchman (right hamstring strain) on the 10-day injured list.
- Placed left-handed pitcher Tyler Gilbert (left knee bursitis) on the 15-day injured list.
- Placed right-handed pitcher Drew Thorpe (Tommy John surgery) on the 60-day injured list.
- Designated for assignment: left-handed pitcher Jake Eder and outfielder Dominic Fletcher.
Managers
- Will Venable, Chicago White Sox: Venable, 42, is in his first season with the White Sox and first year as an MLB manager. He was previously an associate manager for the Texas Rangers from 2023-24 and on the coaching staffs for the Boston Red Sox from 2021-22 and Chicago Cubs from 2018-20. An outfielder during his playing days, Venable began his career with the San Diego Padres from 2008-15 and later played for the Texas Rangers in 2015 and Los Angeles Dodgers in 2016. He had a .249 batting average in 967 career games. Venable graduated from Princeton University, where he played baseball and basketball.
- Ron Washington, Los Angeles Angels: Washington, 72, enters his second season with the Angels after going 63-99 in 2024 and finishing fifth in the AL West. That ended a 10-year managerial gap as Washington was the Atlanta Braves third base coach from 2016-23 and held various assistant coaching roles with the Oakland Athletics from 2015-16. Washington was previously the Texas Rangers' manager from 2007-14, a stretch that included two division titles, three playoff appearances and back-to-back losses in the World Series in 2010 and 2011. He had a 664-611 record with the Rangers.
Related stories on the Chicago White Sox
- WHITE SOX FALL 1-0: The Chicago White Sox pitching staff logged another sharp day, but the bats went quiet in a close loss to the Los Angeles Angels Saturday at Rate Field. CLICK HERE
- ANDERSON BACK IN CHICAGO: Los Angeles Angels second baseman and former White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson spoke to the media prior to his first game back at Rate Field. CLICK HERE
- WHITE SOX-ANGELS GAME STORY: In the Chicago White Sox 8-1 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Opening Day, starting pitcher Sean Burke threw six shutout innings and Austin Slater, Andrew Benintendi and Lenyn Sosa hit home runs. CLICK HERE
- DERRICK ROSE FIRST PITCH: Former Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose spoke to reporters after throwing out the first pitch for the Chicago White Sox Opening Day game against the Los Angeles Angels. CLICK HERE
- AUSTIN SLATER HOME RUN: Austin Slater gave the Chicago White Sox an early lead over the Los Angeles Angels with a home run off Yusei Kikuchi on Opening Day. Watch the highlight here. CLICK HERE
Jack Ankony is the beat writer for “Chicago White Sox on SI.” He has been with the Sports Illustrated network since 2022. He graduated from Indiana University's Media School with a degree in journalism in 2022. Follow Jack on Twitter @ankony_jack