Pregame notes: It’s rainy out here

WASHINGTON, D.C -- It's raining in The District, which I'm told happens a lot. The game is already delayed to 3:45 pm CT. Everyone is still slighlty skeptical about getting in at all.

A doubleheader on the last day between two last place teams? Well, there are debased things happening all the time nowadays. What's one more?

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The White Sox are using Tyler Gilbert as an opener, probably for the last time on the year, in front of Sean Burke. While he's slid back into his rotation spot for the final weeks, Burke hasn't instantly set the world upon returning to Charlotte, nor has he received a long leash in his outings: 12.1 IP, 13 H, 6 ER, 8 BB, 13 K, 3 HR in three games.

But Will Venable doesn't want Burke to think that these four outings as dictating his future.

"I talked to Sean a couple of outings ago and let him know this opportunity for him down the stretch is not make-or-break for him," Venable said. "He’s not at some crossroads in his career. Obviously every time these guys go out there it’s important and it matters. But he’s somebody that we believe in a lot. These couple of outings are not going to shift how we view him. We know that he’s got work to do and we want to continue to support him getting better."

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Shane Smith is starting the season finale, which has him sitting pretty (140 1/3 IP) to overtake Davis Martin (142 2/3 IP) for the White Sox team lead in innings. This is a battle that they're both aware of, but Venable did not pledge to remove Smith after seven outs.

"We’ll see how long he pitches, but he’s starting the game tomorrow," Venable said. "In the spirit of doing everything we can to win while also being mindful of our young guys' workload, we’re going to put our best foot forward and go out and try to win a game."

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Grant Taylor's kick change is progressing well enough that he and Ethan Katz have talked about using it in a game before the season ends. But when his appearance Friday wound up being the last line of defense for a one-run lead against the heart of the Nationals lineup, they decided that was not the right moment.

"I told him 'I don't want to see it, no science experiments with the game on the line,'" said Katz. "But that pitch will show up a lot next year."

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With 22 home runs, Lenyn Sosa is tied for 65th place in the MLB standings. He has hit more homers this year than Elly De La Cruz, Corey Seager, Mookie Betts, Oneil Cruz, and Josh Naylor.

First pitch: White Sox at Nationals

TV: CHSN

Radio: ESPN 1000 AM

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