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These two AL Central teams are back at it! It's time to continue our MLB odds series with a White Sox-Guardians prediction and pick.
Both teams split the doubleheader yesterday as the third and final game of the series is tonight. Cleveland took Game 1 by the score of 4-1 but the White Sox bounced back with a 7-0 win later in the night. Both sides are fighting to gain ground on the Minnesota Twins and are not far behind. The Guardians are (43-43) on the year which is good for 2nd and the White Sox are (42-45) and are five games behind the Twins and 1.5 behind the Guardians. This is an important game for each team.
Here are the White Sox-Guardians MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: White Sox-Guardians Odds
Chicago White Sox: -1.5 (+146)
Cleveland Guardians: +1.5 (-176)
Over: 7.5 (-120)
Under: 7.5 (-102)
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Why The White Sox Could Cover The Spread
Lucas Giolito will get the start tonight. This has not been the year for the White Sox ace as he is struggling to stay consistent. He is (5-5) with a 5.05 ERA on the season. The Sox have lost four of the last five games he's started and they haven't been pretty. He allowed eight runs to the Houston Astros followed by a seven-run game to the Toronto Blue Jays. He's fresh off allowing five runs to the struggling Detroit Tigers so this needs to be a major bounceback game for the right-hander. The good news is that he is still managing to pitch into the 6th or 7th innings, saving the bullpen.
Jose Abreu launched a first-inning home run last night and the Sox never looked back. Dylan Cease is on another level right now as he pitched a shutout in 5.2 innings. The bullpen saved the night and didn't allow the Guardians to great even close to scoring. Luis Robert followed with a home run late in the game to seal the victory.
A day after playing two, the Sox will need Robert and Abreu to lead the team once again. Those two lead the team in ABs this season and are the only two with double-digit home runs and over 40 RBIs on the year. Tim Anderson is batting .311 right now and the All-Star has proven to be a steady leadoff hitter. Look for those three to lead the Sox tonight.
Why The Guardians Could Cover The Spread
Right-hander Aaron Civale will get the start tonight for the Guardians. It's been a tough season for the right-hander as he is (2-5) on the year with a 6.28 ERA in 53 innings. It's safe to say the Guardians play better when another starter is pitching. The Guardians have lost the last three starts he has been in but he hasn't pitched as bad as you would think. He allowed four runs against the Yankees two starts ago but bounced back and is fresh off of allowing just one run against the Kansas City Royals. The bullpen wasn't able to hold on to a lead after seven innings.
The Guardians are finding unique ways of scoring runs this year. They don't showcase much power but when they do it seems to be late in games and it is usually a walk-off. Jose Ramirez has 17 home runs on the year and Josh Naylor has 11, but outside of those two, no one has double-digit homers. Ramirez is one of the RBIs leaders in the entire league this year so he has been very valuable at the plate with runners in scoring position. His 68 RBIs are second behind Pete Alonso who has 72.
That will be the key again today as they are going up against an elite starter.
Final White Sox-Guardians Prediction & Pick
I think the White Sox will have the edge again in this matchup. I expect Giolito to get back on track and the offense for the Sox should attack Civale early in this one.
Final White Sox-Guardians Prediction & Pick: White Sox – 1.5 (+146)
