South Side Hit Pen

Gamethread: White Sox at Braves

Iván Nova looks to wrap up a stellar August in the opener of this three game set

janice scurio

Interleague interstellar: In case you were wondering, Iván Nova's career slash line is .041/.041./.041 (@WhiteSox)

Prepare for a trip through the Interleague Cosmos: it's Super Nova day, my friends. 

In the opener of this three-game set, the Chicago White Sox head to an area of the galaxy they haven't visited since 2016: Atlanta. With their 81-54 record, the Braves sit atop the NL East. What’s even more out of this world is that the Braves are 14-6 in their last 20 games, blasting off towards yet another postseason. 

While the Braves seem as insurmountable as the Sun inevitably turning into a red giant and swallowing the Earth whole, remember that Iván Nova is rocketeering for the Good Guys today. Nova started August with a 3-1 record and a 1.09 ERA, allowing only four earned runs over 33 innings. Nova especially pitches well against National League teams; in his last five games vs. Atlanta, he’s 3-1 with a 1.98 ERA in 27 innings pitched. Against National League teams in 2019, he’s 2-0 with a 1.09 ERA in 24 innings.

On the hill for the Braves is the lefty, Max Fried. He’s 14-4 with a 4.03 ERA. Fried is a slight ground ball pitcher, but has been known to pile on strikeouts every now and then. In his last five starts, he has 31 punch outs in 27 innings pitched; he struck out 10 batters in an August 7 matchup against the Minnesota Twins. 

And now, the lineups:

Brian Snitker’s lineup is below:

Now that you’re thinking about the Sun expanding to the point where it either engulfs the Earth or just boils the oceans ceasing all life as we know it either way, view today’s televised 6:20 CST game on NBC Sports Chicago. For the radio broadcast, set your phasers to WGN 720.

I mean, we have five billion years, right?

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janice scurio
JANICE SCURIO

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