White Sox vs. Guardians Lineup: Vargas Leading Off? Perez Moves Up, More
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The Chicago White Sox are looking to rebound against the Cleveland Guardians after back-to-back walk-off losses. They will do so with a righty-heavy lineup.
Game Info
Who: Chicago White Sox (45-42) vs. Cleveland Guardians (47-42)
Where: Progressive Field
When: 5:40 CT
Watch: CHSN
Listen: ESPN Chicago WMVP 1000 AM
Chicago White Sox Lineup
1. Miguel Vargas, 1B
2. Randal Grichuk, DH
3. Chase Meidroth, 2B
4. Colson Montgomery, 3B
5. Junior Perez, LF
6. Braden Montgomery, RF
7. Luisangel Acuña, SS
8. Tristan Peters, CF
9. Drew Romo, C
Miguel Vargas will lead off on Saturday with Sam Antonacci sitting against a lefty. While Antonacci has improved his splits against southpaws, he is hitting only .156 against them. Usually, Chase Meidroth would lead off against a left-hander. Instead, Will Venable will roll with Meidroth in the three-hole.
What's more surprising is seeing Junior Perez higher up in the lineup. While he has hit just .235 in 17 at-bats, he is showing great power with a .588 slugging percentage. Luisangel Acuña will hit above Tristan Peters, which is also a bit out of the norm.
Cleveland Guardians Lineup
1. Travis Bazzana, 2B
2. Chase DeLauter, DH
3. Kyle Manzardo, 1B
4. Kahlil Watson, RF
5. Brayan Rocchio, SS
6. Cooper Ingle, LF
7. Daniel Schneemann, 3B
8. Austin Hedges, C
9. Steven Kwan, CF
This Guardians lineup is quite weak hitting-wise, with just one player above a .750 OPS in Travis Bazzana.
Players to watch in this matchup are Austin Hedges, Steven Kwan, and Kahlil Watson, who have all had good extended looks against White Sox starter Sean Burke. Watson has a home run against Burke in his career.
On The Mound...
Chicago White Sox - Sean Burke, RHP
Burke has been phenomenal in his last seven appearances, pitching to a 3.18 ERA with 49 strikeouts in 39.2 innings.
In his last start against the Baltimore Orioles, he pitched 5.1 innings, giving up two runs. In his prior start against the Guardians, he pitched 6.1 innings, giving up one run. That experience could help him defeat the Guardians again, but it can also hurt him if his command falters.
Cleveland Guardians - Parker Messick, LHP
Messick has been a revelation in his rookie season for Cleveland. In 17 starts, he has a 2.85 ERA with 106 strikeouts in 101 innings and is making a case for American League Rookie of the Year. However, in his last two starts, he has slipped, giving up six runs in 14.1 innings.
Messick doesn't walk a lot of guys (just 29 this season), so the White Sox will have to be patient to win tonight.
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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.