​Jun 12, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago White Sox third baseman Miguel Vargas (20) is doused by shortstop Colson Montgomery (12), left, and pitcher Davis Martin (65) after the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images | Matt Marton-Imagn Images What a difference a year makes. The White Sox weren’t quite historically bad in 2025, but they still lost 102 games and were very much in the wilderness. Now they’re a game and a half clear of anyone in the division, and while they’re not necessarily projected to stay in that slot, first place is first place and someone in the annual AL Central Rock Fight needs to knock them off that perch.The team has a couple real stars, after multiple seasons of trading away the only players that were halfway interesting. There are five hitters in the lineup that boast plus production, led by Miguel Vargas at third base, and a rotation that bounces between solid and quite good. You can see the pieces being set into place for what would be a genuinely good baseball team, and the Yankees can’t afford to assume this version of the Sox will just roll over and die.The Yankees will be without Cody Bellinger, who was put on the IL with a bad hamstring on Sunday. With another All Star-caliber player unavailable, the pitching needs to once again carry the load — fortunately, the team has the three guys you want going to start the series, a good preview of a potential playoff deployment, and the fourth guy is coming off a damn good outing in his own right.Monday — Max Fried vs. Noah Schultz (7:40pm Eastern)Fried roared back into the rotation against the Pirates last week, throwing five innings with a 7:1 K:BB ratio while still on a limited pitch count. He lowered his season ERA to below 3.00 and certainly assuaged early concerns that he would need to be handled with kid gloves returning from his bone bruise. Now he’ll be brought to bear against a White Sox side that’s relatively mediocre against southpaws, managing just a 98 wRC+ so far this season.Schultz was a first-round pick by the Sox, 12th overall back in 2022, but hasn’t really found his footing in his first taste of MLB action. He throws a four-seam/sinker combo that is mediocre, but the real problem has been a complete lack of anything resembling secondary stuff. One of the worst sweepers in baseball is paired with one of the worst changeups, and for a Yankee team that is dead set on having a lefty-specialist lineup, the goal has to be to hunt heaters and spit on any other offering.Tuesday — Gerrit Cole vs. Anthony Kay (7:40pm Eastern)Dadbod Cole is probably past the AL Cy Young frontrunner days, but has been solid enough outside of two rocky starts following Tommy John surgery. His last outing against Pittsburgh was a great test for what you see as valuable in pitching — he gave up two home runs but just two other hits, and struck out 11 against no walks in seven innings. He has the lowest