Shohei Ohtani likely to play as division-leading White Sox, Dodgers square off

A weekend series between two division leaders -- the White Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers -- already was minus one Japanese slugger as Chicago's Munetaka Murakami remains on the injured list with a strained right hamstring.

Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts, however, alleviated fears that star Shohei Ohtani might be out for the opener of a three-game series in Chicago on Friday night -- or longer -- describing his concern level about Ohtani's left knee inflammation as "not high."

Ohtani was removed for a pinch hitter in the seventh inning of an 8-6 victory at Pittsburgh on Thursday that secured a series win for the National League West-best Dodgers. Roberts called the move precautionary.

"Just wanted to be smart and not push it," he said Thursday night. "So I feel good about him being in there tomorrow, but obviously with the travel tonight, we'll just kind of see how he comes in."

Chicago will be eager to host the Dodgers after sweeping an abbreviated, two-game series against the major-league-leading Atlanta Braves.

After edging Atlanta by one run in the first two games, the White Sox's bid for a sweep on Thursday night was washed away as the game was postponed until Aug. 20 due to inclement weather.

A 2-1 victory Wednesday coupled with a Cleveland Guardians' loss early in the day vaulted the White Sox atop the American League Central for the first time since the last day of the 2021 season. The Guardians were idle Thursday.

The Dodgers have beaten the White Sox in nine of the teams' past 10 games dating to June 9, 2022, but this is not the same Chicago franchise.

After losing at least 101 games in each of the past three seasons, the White Sox have changed the vibe behind a blend of confident veterans and quick-learning rookies. Twelve Chicago players have made their MLB debuts this season, with right fielder Braden Montgomery the latest to take a star turn, collecting two hits in each of his first two games.

Those efforts includes a walk-off, two-run home run in the 10th inning Tuesday in his debut as Chicago beat Atlanta 6-5.

"We show up and we've got a good group of guys," second baseman Chase Meidroth said. "We show and work every day. The standard is the standard here, and the expectations are what we've got."

Chicago was expecting to have two Montgomerys in the lineup for the first time Thursday. Infielder Colson Montgomery, no relation to Braden, missed the first two games against the Braves with back tightness.

The Dodgers were out-hit 12-10 on Thursday but prevailed vs. the Pirates. Andy Pages and Ohtani contributed two hits each while Kyle Tucker delivered a two-run single.

While Chicago won't face Ohtani on the mound after he pitched Wednesday, the four-time Most Valuable Player is batting .444 with three home runs and nine RBIs in June.

Roberts said Ohtani "was really locked in" at the plate Thursday. His night included a solo home run in the third inning.

Left-hander Anthony Kay (5-1, 4.40 ERA) is set to start for the White Sox on Friday, as his turn in the rotation gets pushed back a day following Thursday's rainout. Kay is coming off a no-decision last Friday at Philadelphia in which he yielded six runs and seven hits, including two home runs, in four innings. He walked two and struck out four in an 8-6 loss.

Right-hander Roki Sasaki (3-3, 4.03) will get the call for the Dodgers. Sasaki also took a no-decision last Friday but was much more dominant than his counterpart, spacing two hits, two walks and 10 strikeouts over seven shutout innings against the Los Angeles Angels. The Dodgers won 1-0.

Neither Kay nor Sasaki has faced their Friday opponent in their careers.

--Field Level Media