Nomar Mazara is out. Now what for the White Sox in right field?

Nomar Mazara

White Sox right fielder Nomar Mazara did not play in either of this week's exhibition games against the Cubs. Manager Rick Renteria described Mazara as being "under the weather."

Today, Mazara was placed on the 10-day injured list. No explanation has been given. We can speculate on what's going on, but what we know is that Mazara will not be in the lineup for Friday's season opener against the Minnesota Twins.

In fact, he won't be eligible to return until Aug. 1, so what do the Sox do in right field in the meantime? In a 60-game season, a good start is even more important than usual. And it's especially crucial for the Sox, given that they start the season with the Twins and the Cleveland Indians -- the two clubs that are expected to be the front-runners in the AL Central.

Well, I guess it depends on who the second baseman is. Will it be prized prospect Nick Madrigal or veteran utility player Leury Garcia?

If it's Madrigal, then Garcia can fill the gap in right, perhaps as part of a time share with Adam Engel. Perhaps Garcia, a switch-hitter, starts against right-handed pitchers, while Engel, a right-handed hitter, starts against lefties.

Here's a look at the platoon splits for each player in 2019:

Garcia vs. RHP: .264/.294/.348
Garcia vs. LHP: .311/.344/.443

Engel vs RHP: .201/.272/.326
Engel vs LHP: .313/.360/.482

The numbers tell us Garcia is stronger from the right side of the plate. But Engel's numbers against righties are pathetic, while Garcia's are acceptable. For me, it then makes sense to play Garcia against righties.

And while Garcia performed just fine against lefties, Engel hits them harder, so I would give him the start on the rare occasions when the Sox face a lefty starter -- there aren't a lot of them in the AL Central, and Minnesota's Rich Hill is probably the only one the Sox will see during the season's first week.

But, what if the Sox decide to hold Madrigal back for service time or some other reason that I'm not thinking of? Then Garcia is the second baseman, and Engel is the best choice in right field.

I'm cringing a little bit as I look at the lineup for Wednesday night's exhibition against the Milwaukee Brewers. Garcia is at second base. OK, perhaps the Sox are tipping their hand at what they are going to do at that position.

But then in right field, it's not Engel. It's ... Nicky Delmonico? The career .227 hitter who doesn't have a position he can play competently? Ugh.

I'm not a huge Engel fan, but at least he's a good outfielder. Engel is certainly not the best hitter, but he brings one major league-caliber skill to the team -- his glove.

What exactly does Delmonico do well?

I'll be disappointed if someone other than Garcia or Engel is getting time in right field during Mazara's absence.

Minnesota Twins add Homer Bailey, Rich Hill to fill out starting rotation

Homer Bailey

The Minnesota Twins needed two starting pitchers to fill out their 2020 rotation, but they failed to sign any of the high-profile names on the market.

On Tuesday, the Twins picked up two veterans to fill those gaps, signing right-hander Homer Bailey and left-hander Rich Hill to one-year contracts.

Bailey, 33, won a total of eight games in four seasons from 2015-18, but he bounced back to respectability in 2019. He went 13-9 with a 4.57 ERA in 31 starts and 163.1 innings pitched.

Eighteen of those starts came with the Kansas City Royals, 13 with the Oakland Athletics after a midseason trade.

Bailey's deal is for $7 million, and he will earn performance bonuses if he reaches 180 innings, something he has not done since the 2013 season.

Hill, 39, will be 40 years old by the time the season starts, and he's still good when he's healthy, but he's on the injured list a lot. He was limited to 13 starts in 2019 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but he did go 4-1 with a 2.45 ERA in 58.2 innings.

Over the past five seasons, Hill has made 86 starts, or about 17 per season. That's why his contract contains only $3 million in guarantees. The contract escalates to $9.5 million if he hits 15 starts or 75 innings. Hill had surgery on his elbow in October, and he won't return until at least June.

I wouldn't expect either of these two guys to provide a major impact for the Twins, but they had to do something. They still have their ace, Jose Berrios, and two middle-of-the-rotation pitchers in Jake Odorizzi and Michael Pineda.

However, the other members of their 2019 rotation signed elsewhere. Kyle Gibson is with the Texas Rangers. Martin Perez has moved on to the Boston Red Sox.

Of course, the Twins won 101 games and the AL Central title last summer on the strength of their excellent offense, not their pitching. They smashed a MLB record 307 home runs, and no matter what, they are going to have to hit their way back to the playoffs.

Rumor has it Minnesota "has room to go big" for third baseman Josh Donaldson. That would add to an already good lineup, and it also would improve the Twins' infield defense -- a must behind a starting staff that is likely to be considered suspect going into the season.

Dodgers stick with their plan, force Game 7

Rich Hill

For the second year in a row and third time in four years, the World Series is going seven games.

The Los Angeles Dodgers forced a decisive game Tuesday with a 3-1 victory over the Houston Astros in Game 6.

Game 7 is Wednesday night. Yu Darvish gets the start for Los Angeles. Lance McCullers will be on the mound for Houston.

Give the Dodgers credit: They are smarter than me, and they stuck with the plan that has made them successful throughout the season and playoffs. They don't like to allow their starters to go through a lineup more than two times, and they are standing by that belief. I thought they needed six innings from starter Rich Hill to win Game 6. They didn't. I was wrong.

Hill was effective, giving them 4.2 innings of one-run ball, but when he got in trouble in the fifth, manager Dave Roberts quickly went to the bullpen.

I didn't think Brandon Morrow had anything left in the tank after his poor performance in Game 5, but he got the biggest out of the game in the top of the fifth inning. He entered with the Dodgers trailing, 1-0. The Astros had the bases loaded with two outs, and Game 5 hero Alex Bregman was at the plate.

Morrow retired Bregman on a routine grounder to shortstop to keep it a one-run game, and the right-hander went on to record the first two outs of the sixth inning, as well.

The Dodgers broke through with two runs in the bottom of the sixth off Justin Verlander, highlighted by an RBI double by Chris Taylor and a sacrifice fly by Corey Seager. They added a third run in the seventh when Joc Pederson homered off Joe Musgrove.

This time, the Los Angeles bullpen was up to the task of protecting a lead, and much to my surprise, the Dodgers used Kenley Jansen for a six-out save. Jansen retired every batter he faced the final two innings, with three strikeouts, and he needed only 19 pitches to get the job done.

I figured Jansen would be good for only three outs in Game 6, but with that efficiency, he worked two innings with ease. It could be key that he kept his pitch count low in closing out Tuesday's game, in the likely event he'll be needed in the late innings of Game 7.

We'll see what Darvish can provide for the Dodgers. He was terrible in Game 3, getting knocked out in the second inning. The leash will be short in Game 7, of course, but that's especially true knowing Clayton Kershaw should be available to relieve at some point.

As for the Astros, they missed a big chance to close it out with their best guy on the mound in Game 6. Now, they'll have to piece the pitching together in Game 7, starting with McCullers. Will we see Dallas Keuchel in relief in Game 7? Probably.

Would Verlander come back for an inning after throwing 93 pitches Tuesday? Doubt it, but you never know. Charlie Morton, Houston's Game 4 starter, might be called upon to work in relief as well.

I'm guessing the Astros are going to need a big offensive night in order to win. In Houston's three victories in this series, it has scored 25 runs. In its three losses, it has scored four runs.

The Dodgers have won two 3-1 games in this series. They have had the advantage in the pitchers' duels. The Astros are at an advantage when the game becomes a slugfest.

Game 6 of the World Series ... a couple of key questions

Justin Verlander

The Los Angeles Dodgers are at home, facing a must-win situation Tuesday in Game 6 of the 2017 World Series. The Houston Astros lead the series, 3-2, and have two chances to capture the first championship in franchise history, but they'll have to do it on the road.

It would be hard for Game 6 to top the drama of Game 5, but here's a couple of key questions -- one for each team -- going into this game.

For Houston .... who closes?

The Astros have it set up just the way they want it. Their best pitcher, Justin Verlander, is on the mound with a chance to secure a title. Both bullpens are taxed, so it's a huge advantage for Houston to have this right-hander on its side. Verlander is the only starting pitcher to complete a game in these playoffs.

Can Verlander go all nine innings in Game 6? Well, maybe, but that's a lot to ask. And what happens if Verlander gets through seven or eight innings with a lead, but doesn't have enough left in the tank to finish?

Where do the Astros turn when their two best relievers during the season -- Ken Giles and Chris Devenski -- have blown multi-run leads during this series and generally have been arsonists?

How about Lance McCullers? Sure, he's slated to start Game 7, if necessary. But if you're Houston manager A.J. Hinch, and you have a lead late in Game 6, perhaps you push your chips to the center of the table, go to your best option and try to close it out right then and there.

For me, the next-best option after Verlander is McCullers.

For Los Angeles ... how long can Rich Hill go?

Hill started Game 2 for the Dodgers, and he was effective. He allowed only one run over four innings, but he was given a quick hook. Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts just wanted Hill to get through the Houston batting order twice before turning it over to the bullpen, which had been dominant up until that point in the postseason.

That backfired on Roberts in Game 2. Dodgers relievers coughed up six runs in a 7-6 loss, and Houston has been proving over and over again since that it can score against the Los Angeles bullpen.

As we've noted, Kenley Jansen and Brandon Morrow have been used a lot. They probably cannot be counted upon for multiple innings in this game, even though it is a must-win for the Dodgers.

It's imperative that Hill pitch effectively into the sixth inning, and perhaps he needs to get through the sixth inning for the Dodgers to win.

Based on what I've seen, Roberts needs to stay away from Morrow in this game. Kenta Maeda and Tony Watson seem to be the best bets to form a bridge from Hill to Jansen. And, yes, despite Jansen's diminished effectiveness, I think the Dodgers should go to him in a closing situation. He's still their best option, but they probably shouldn't ask him for more than three outs.

If Los Angeles can get through this Game 6, then maybe it can go Yu Darvish to Morrow to Jansen in a Game 7 situation.

Cubs' offensive woes: Is it the pressure or the Dodgers' pitching?

Anthony Rizzo -- 2 for 26 in the playoffs

Panic might be too strong a word, but there is definitely consternation and concern on the streets of Chicago after the Cubs lost, 6-0, to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday in Game 3 of the NLCS.

The Dodgers have taken a 2-1 series lead, and they have limited the Cubs to zero runs on six hits over the past two games combined. Until this week, Los Angeles had never posted back-to-back shutouts in its 200-game playoff history.

The Cubs hadn't been shut out in back-to-back games since May 2014. But in these playoffs, they've scored just 25 runs in seven games and have posted an ugly team slash line of .185/.242/.335.

Some of the individual statistics are even worse:

Addison Russell: 1 for 24, .042 avg.
Anthony Rizzo: 2 for 26, .077 avg.
Jason Heyward: 2 for 19, .105 avg.
Ben Zobrist: 4 for 26, .154 avg.
Dexter Fowler: 5 for 28, .179 avg.

So, five of the Cubs' eight everyday players are a combined 14 for 123. That pencils out to a .114 average. With production like this, the Cubs are lucky they won the NLDS. They were fortunate to play a San Francisco Giants team that had no bullpen whatsoever.

Here's the question with the Cubs (and it's a rhetorical one -- I don't have a definitive answer): Are they struggling because they are facing good pitching, or are they struggling because they are feeling the pressure of trying to end a 108-year World Series drought?

After the Cubs lost, 1-0, to the Dodgers in Game 2, I would have said the Cubs were simply beat by good pitching. They saw Clayton Kershaw, the best pitcher of this generation, for seven innings. Then, the next two innings they saw Kenley Jansen, who is one of the top five closers in the game today.

There is no shame in getting shut down by the combination of Kershaw and Jansen.

But then came Game 3, when the Cubs managed only two hits in six innings against Rich Hill, a journeyman who has played for eight teams and was pitching for the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League as recently as last year. The Dodgers also used journeyman right-hander Joe Blanton and rookie left-hander Grant Dayton in relief Tuesday, before going to Jansen to close out the game.

Am I wrong for thinking the Cubs, who scored 808 runs this season, should have been able to get something done against the trio of Hill, Blanton and Dayton? I don't believe so.

The Cubs' Game 2 loss struck me as good pitching by the Dodgers. The Cubs' Game 3 loss struck me as bad offense, and a sign that the Cubs might be feeling the pressure.

I can't be sure; I certainly don't have any insight into what the Cubs hitters are thinking at the plate. But I do know this: The Dodgers are starting 20-year-old Julio Urias in Game 4. He's a talented kid, but he's a rookie, and he hasn't thrown as many as 90 pitches in any game since August.

The Cubs should beat this guy, and they better if they want to end their World Series drought this year. If the Cubs lose this game, they are one loss away from elimination, and you already know they are going to see Kershaw one more time before this series is over.

If you're the Cubs -- and, of course, I am not -- you don't want to put yourself in a situation where the best pitcher in baseball can close you out.