White Sox vs. Angels: Toughest Pitching Matchup Yet? Another Start for Romo, More
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To the surprise of many, the Chicago White Sox have been one of the best offenses in baseball over the last two weeks. Their 68 RBIs are fourth-most in the league, while their 23 home runs are third behind only the Yankees and Cubs. Equally as encouraging, their plate discipline has improved tremendously. The team has 58 walks over these 13 contests, which has played a significant role in consistently putting runners in scoring position.
Are the Sox still an inconsistent group? Absolutely, but that's just going to be a factor when you're relying on this many young players. You just have to be encouraged by the flashes of in-season growth, which included last night's epic seventh inning.
Down 5-1 in the frame, the Sox would go on to score seven runs in an offensive masterclass. Munetaka Murakami and Miguel Vargas put the exclamation point on the run with back-to-back homers. Nevertheless, putting together the same kind of inning this evening could prove very difficult. Not only do the Angels have their best arm on the mound, but he is arguably the hottest pitcher in baseball!
Game Info
Who: Los Angeles Angels (12-18) at Chicago White Sox (12-17)
Where: Guaranteed Rate Field
When: 6:40 PM CT
Watch: Chicago Sports Network, MLB.TV
Listen: ESPN 1000
White Sox Lineup
1. Andrew Benintendi, DH
2. Munetaka Murakami, 1B
3. Miguel Vargas, 3B
4. Colson Montgomery, DH
5. Everson Pereira, RF
6. Sam Antonacci, LF
7. Tristan Peters, CF
8. Drew Romo, C
9. Luisangel Acuña, SS
The White Sox are going with the same first six on Tuesday night. This group has settled in over the last couple of weeks, with the Murakami-Vargas-Montgomery power trip proving to be a nightmare for the opposing pitcher. Everson Pereira has also continued to play some great baseball, though he did see his three-game hit streak come to an end during the series opener.
Tristan Peters is in the seventh hole and making his second consecutive start in center field. All things considered, I know it's slightly surprising to see the 26-year-old back out there after Austin Hays was recalled from his rehab assignment. However, manager Will Venable did say they would wait until Wednesday to put Hays back in a starting spot. This also could speak to the questions the Sox currently have in the middle infield spot. There is no obvious defensive choice, so Venable may view the versatile Peters as his best option. Of course, Acuña has played his fair share of center, but the results have been mixed.
As for Drew Romo, this will be only his second start behind the plate for the White Sox. The team decided to call up the 24-year-old last week and DFA veteran Reese McGuire. It was surely a surprising choice considering that Kyle Teel is on the mend and could look to return soon. With that said, Romo was playing some awesome baseball for the Charlotte Knights and can be considered a better defender than Edgar Quero.
Indeed, the real question is going to be whether Romo can muster enough offense to earn many future starts. He failed to record a hit in his Sox debut against the Nationals, but he did draw two walks and only struck out once.
Los Angeles Angels Lineup
1. Zach Neto, SS
2. Mike Trout, CF
3. Yoan Moncada, 3B
4. Jorge Soler, DH
5. Nola Schanuel, 1B
6. Jo Adell, RF
7. Josh Lowe, LF
8. Sebastian Rivero, C
9. Adam Frazier, 2B
Pitching Matchup
White Sox – Davis Martin, RHP
Davis Martin has looked like a borderline ace to begin the season. The Sox' longest tenured arm, he has been excellent at keeping balls in the zone and reducing his walks. In fact, Baseball Savant has his 5.9 percent walk rate in the league's 86th percentile. The righty hasn't walked more than two batters in any of his starts this season, and he's going at least 6.0 innings in each of his last four outings.
Martin has also managed to display this great command while using a six-pitch arsenal. He switches things up as much as almost any starter in the league and has done a great job tapping into his breaking ball. As of now, when Martin is on the mound, the Sox are feeling very good about their chances.
The only problem is ...
Angels – José Soriano, RHP
José Soriano has been on a tear to begin his 2026 campaign. The righty has a mind-boggling 0.24 ERA over his first six appearances, compiling a 5-0 record in the process. His 43 strikeouts so far are fifth-most in major league baseball, as he has repeatedly made batters look silly with some crazy movement.
Soriano has relied most on his knuckle curve and sinker so far this year, but he also pairs that with a fastball that touches 98 mph. Overall, creating any kind of consistently hard contact has proven remarkably difficult for opposing teams. And his 58.3 percent ground ball rate speaks to just that.
What the Sox need to do is be extremely patient. Since Soriano does rely so heavily on finding the corner of the plate, he can be prone to walking some batters. Still, few pitchers have been more locked in to begin this season, and there is a good chance we see plenty of swings and misses from the Sox this evening.
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Elias Schuster is a sports journalist and content creator from the northern suburbs of Chicago. A graduate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he has covered the Bulls since 2019-20 and previously served as the editor of BN Bulls at Bleacher Nation. He has been the Publisher for Bulls On SI since December of the 2025-26 season. When he isn't obsessing over hoops, Elias spends his time obsessing over practically every other sport – much to his wife's dismay. He also loves strolling the streets of Chicago for the best cozy bar or restaurant to set up shop and write his next article.
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