Yusei Kikuchi vs. Carlos Rodon, 5:10pm
The resurgent M’s face another tough test as they face the AL Central-leading White Sox in Chicago. After sweeping the Rays at home, can they sustain this momentum in a very different run environment?
Perhaps more pertinent for any discussion of baseball these days…can they sustain quality pitching performances now that umpires are searching pitchers for sticky stuff? Certainly, Yusei Kikuchi’s spin rate was down dramatically in his last start, though that start was extremely successful. Will it continue that he’s in a park that isn’t so helpful to pitchers? Eno Sarris and Britt Ghiroli have a good article at the Athletic trying to measure the impact on runs that the current collective spin rate collapse may have, and they find evidence of a big impact.