The Dodgers arrived in Chicago on June 12 for a three-game set against the first-place White Sox, with Roki Sasaki taking the ball for Los Angeles and Andrew Benintendi listed in the matchup context.
The White Sox enter the series buoyed by their 36th win on Wednesday and a mini sweep of the Braves — they won the first two games before Thursday's contest was postponed for weather — but their lead in the AL Central is a hairline: they sit only a half game ahead of the Cleveland Indians.
Sasaki, who the Dodgers are tabbing for Game 1, has been exceptional in his last three outings, giving Los Angeles a starter capable of challenging a White Sox lineup that has managed three or more runs in each of its last five games against right-handers.
Chicago will hand the ball to Anthony Kay, a pitcher who carries a 5‑1 record and a 4.40 ERA on the season. Kay looked especially sharp in May, when his ERA fell to 1.95, but his most recent turn against the Philadelphia Phillies was a reality check: he allowed six runs in 4.0 innings and surrendered two homers.
The matchup sets up as a study in volatility. The White Sox are producing runs in bunches against righties, yet they still strike out a fair amount as a team — the sort of feast-or-famine profile that can undo a starter having a good night or magnify one who’s struggling.
For the Dodgers, the series opens with a lineup complication: Will Smith will be unavailable. Shohei Ohtani exited Thursday's game with an inflamed left knee; the Dodgers' manager described the move as precautionary and said Ohtani is expected back in the lineup on Friday. How Los Angeles balances that rotation of bats and roster spots during a short, pivotal set remains unsettled.
Beyond the immediate health questions, Chicago’s roster carries its own storylines. Miguel Vargas, an offseason acquisition who was traded to Chicago midseason in 2024, has settled in as a contributor this year — he has 16 home runs and is batting.243 on the season, though his lifetime average sits at.212.
Managerial decisions and matchup edges matter more than ever in a three-game stretch. Sasaki’s recent form gives Los Angeles an immediate chance to take the opener; Kay’s May numbers show why Chicago trusts him to follow up a hot stretch. But Kay’s recent home-run trouble and Chicago’s strikeout tendency create openings for a Dodger lineup missing Smith and briefly missing Ohtani.
What to watch when first pitch goes: whether Sasaki can keep Chicago’s right-handed scoring runs from getting started, and whether Kay can shake off the Phillies outing without surrendering another multi‑homer night. Also watch how Los Angeles fills Smith’s spot and whether Ohtani’s Friday return changes the Dodgers’ plan for the remainder of the set.
The series will play out over the next three days, with the returning availability of Ohtani on Friday the clearest scheduled development; the more consequential unknown is how the Dodgers will reconfigure their lineup if Smith remains sidelined — that tactical answer will shape whether Los Angeles can snap the White Sox’s narrow hold on first place in the AL Central.
