White Sox vs. Guardians Lineup: Can Meidroth Stay Hot? No Antonacci, Doyle in CF
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After getting swept by the Boston Red Sox in an ugly series, the Chicago White Sox will look to rebound against the Cleveland Guardians.
Currently sitting 3.0 games ahead of the Guardians for the top spot in the AL Central, this will be one of the most important series left on Chicago's 2026 schedule.
Game Info
Who: Chicago White Sox (59-55) vs. Cleveland Guardians (57-59)
Where: Rate Field
When: 6:40 CT
Watch: CHSN
Listen: ESPN Chicago WMVP 1000 AM, 107.9 La Ley
Chicago White Sox Lineup
1. Chase Meidroth, 2B
2. Munetaka Murakami, DH
3. Miguel Vargas, 1B
4. Randal Grichuk, LF
5. Colson Montgomery, 3B
6. Brenton Doyle, CF
7. Braden Montgomery, RF
8. Edgar Quero, C
9. Luisangel Acuña, SS
The White Sox will have a righty-heavy lineup against Guardians left-hander Parker Messick. After two home runs in Thursday's brutal extra-innings loss, Chase Meidroth will lead off. Meidroth has been scorching hot of late. In his last 15 games, he is slashing .294/.403/.588 with 12 runs driven in.
Munetaka Murakami will be the designated hitter in today's matchup, with Miguel Vargas taking over first base and Colson Montgomery taking over third base. Vargas is the only one in the lineup with a home run against Messick.
Randal Grichuk will be in left field against a lefty he has seen enough of. Grichuk is 2-for-6 against Messick with a 1.000 OPS. Sam Antonacci is once again absent from the lineup against a left-hander. While he has just a .524 OPS against left-handers in his rookie season, he has been steadily improving, and it's confusing that he is still platooning with the kind of hitter he is.
Brenton Doyle will get the start in center field over Tristan Peters. Edgar Quero is back up after Joey Bart's devastating hand injury, which will place him on the 10-day IL with no current timetable for return.
Cleveland Guardians Lineup
1. Steven Kwan, CF
2. Chase DeLauter, DH
3. José Ramírez, 3B
4. Jo Adell, RF
5. Angel Martínez, LF
6. Rhys Hoskins, 1B
7. Brayan Rocchio, SS
8. Austin Hedges, C
9. Angel Genao, 2B
The Guardians will have José Ramírez back in their lineup against Chicago for the first time in a while after an injury. He is historically dangerous against the White Sox, so Noah Schultz will have to be careful. New addition Jo Adell is the only player to have seen Schultz in his young career, but he was 0-for-2 against the southpaw.
This is a weak-hitting Guardians lineup with nobody having a qualified OPS above .800. However, Schultz will need to be in the zone again to defeat Cleveland.
On The Mound...
Chicago White Sox - Noah Schultz, LHP
While it's been a disappointing season overall for the left-hander, Noah Schultz is still in the rotation after the White Sox made a move for just one starter at the trade deadline. However, in his last start against the Tampa Bay Rays, Schultz showed some glimpses of promise. In five innings, he gave up just three hits and no walks, with one earned run. Schultz will need to have that kind of stuff and control to beat this Guardians lineup.
Cleveland Guardians - Parker Messick, LHP
Messick has been one of the best rookies in the American League. With a 2.57 ERA in 22 starts, Messick has also been one of the best pitchers in the AL. In his last start against the White Sox on July 4, he went five innings, giving up one run.
The White Sox will have to be sharp to defeat Messick and a dominant Cleveland pitching staff.
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Matthew Singer is a contributor for White Sox on SI. Before joining SI in 2026, he worked for Heavy as an MLB contributor and Cubs on SI. Singer has a master's degree in sports journalism from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. He loves sports more than anything in the world.