MLB Game Preview - Detroit at Chicago Sox

Fri Apr 26, 2019 8:10 PM EDT

The Chicago White Sox have received little positives out of their starting pitching this season, save for left-hander Carlos Rodon.

Rodon (3-2, 2.89 ERA) will look to win his third straight start on Friday night as the White Sox begin a season-high 10-game homestand with the opener of a three-game series against the Detroit Tigers.

The 26-year-old Rodon has allowed just three runs on six hits in his last 12 innings, surrendering just Josh Harrison's solo homer among three hits in six frames of a 7-3 victory at Detroit last Friday.

Rodon owns a 2-2 mark with a 5.10 ERA in five career starts against the Tigers, although Harrison (3-for-5, homer), Miguel Cabrera (4-for-9, homer) and Nicholas Castellanos (3-for-8) have enjoyed success in small sample sizes.

While Rodon has fared well, Chicago has seen the rest of its starters endure their fair share of struggles on the mound. Lucas Giolito owns a 2-1 mark with a 5.30 ERA, while Reynaldo Lopez (1-3, 7.46), Ivan Nova (0-3, 8.42) and Ervin Santana (0-2, 9.45) have stumbled out of the blocks.

"We expected better from the beginning of the season with the guys we had, but obviously that hasn't been the case," White Sox manager Rick Renteria said of his team's starting pitching.

Santana surrendered all four runs in 4 2/3 innings of Wednesday's 4-3 loss at Baltimore, giving Chicago five losses in its last seven games.

"A lack of command," Renteria said. "There's still a lot of misses going on. Coop (pitching coach Don Cooper) and Has (bullpen coach Curt Hasler) are looking at all that stuff."

Jose Abreu ripped a pair of RBI doubles in the finale versus the Orioles to improve to 9-for-22 with one homer, nine RBIs and three runs scored during his five-game hitting streak.

Abreu, however, was just 3-for-14 in last week's series against Detroit, which will send left-hander Daniel Norris to the mound on Friday.

Norris (1-0, 2.70) scattered two hits and struck out a season-best six over five scoreless innings in a 4-3 victory versus the White Sox on Sunday. The win was his first since Sept. 28, 2017.

The 26-year-old Norris owns a 2-0 mark with a 2.05 ERA and 0.87 WHIP in six career appearances (four starts) against Chicago. He has held the current group of White Sox to a .152 batting average (7-for-46), although Yonder Alonso has a homer and four RBIs off the hurler.

Castellanos belted a two-run homer just inside the Pesky Pole in the right-field corner on Thursday, but the Tigers dropped their second straight game with a 7-3 setback to Boston. Castellanos' homer was his first of the season and major league-worst 14th by Detroit.

"Nick is just Nick -- he just goes out there and plays and swings," manager Ron Gardenhire said when asked if he thought the home run drought was weighing on Castellanos.

"He was happy, but more for the team than anything else. Nick is going to hit a lot of home runs in his career."

--Field Level Media