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The Chicago White Sox begin a weekend series against the Minnesota Twins in the North Star State Friday evening. It is time to check out our MLB odds series, where our White Sox-Twins prediction and pick will be made.
Heading into this one, the White Sox currently are 6-6 on the young season after losing four straight contests. Chicago was outscored 19-5 during a three-game set against division rivals in the Guardians and now trails Cleveland in the AL Central for first place by one game. Eager to halt Chicago's losing ways will be no other than flamethrower Michael Kopech, who has pitched nine innings and has looked sharp in doing so with a 1.00 ERA.
Minnesota sits at 5-8 including a 2-4 mark at Target Field. On the bump for the Twins will be righty Bailey Ober, who already has a pair of outings under his belt with a 3.27 ERA and seven strikeouts in 11 innings pitched.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the White Sox-Twins MLB odds:
MLB Odds: White Sox-Twins Odds
Chicago White Sox: -1.5 (+162)
Minnesota Twins: +1.5 (-196)
Over: 7.5 (+104)
Under: 7.5 (-128)
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Why The White Sox Could Cover the Spread
It never feels good to be swept, especially when it comes at the hands of an arch-nemesis within your own division. There's no doubt that the White Sox were left with a bad taste in their mouth, and will look to avoid this stretch of losing to continue any further with some much-improved play on Friday. After getting off to a hot start to the season, the White Sox are sliding and need to figure out what's wrong fast before things get out of hand.
Fortunately, 2021 was very kind to Chicago when pitted up with Minnesota, as the White Sox were able to take advantage of Twins pitching and keep hitters guessing when in the batter's box. In fact, Chicago won the season series 13-6 including outscoring the Twins 123-76. While these numbers don't particularly mean anything in 2022, it still provides the south side of Chicago with some hope of looking ahead to this weekend series matchup.
Chicago hasn't necessarily excelled in any facet of the game up to this point, as the White Sox may still be trying to find a sense of identity 12 games into the new baseball season. At the plate, Chicago has seen its fair share of struggles, as the highest batting average on the team belongs to first-baseman Jose Abreu with an underwhelming .220 number. Not to mention, Chicago seems to be stagnant in producing extra-base hits and home runs, as the ‘Sox currently are ranked 22nd in slugging percentage at .345.
With zero quality starts thus far from their pitching staff thus far, Chicago is desperate for Kopech to pitch as effectively as possible and keep the Twins off the scoreboard. Kopech definitely is able to pitch deep into his games with his nasty arsenal, but his injury-barred past has made Chicago have to be extra careful during the beginning stages of the season. The 25-year-old has actually made five appearances against the Twins regardless and is 1-0 with an impressive 1.29 ERA in such outings.
Why The Twins Could Cover the Spread
Looking to win back-to-back games for only the second time this season, the Twins are coming off a 1-0 shutout win against the Royals in which Minnesota arms pitched to near perfection. Like the White Sox, the Twins are also a bottom ten team when it comes to their hitting, as they are also still trying to click on all cylinders heading into the final week of April. In 13 games, the Twins actually have a lower batting average than Chicago, as they enter Friday's matchup with a .2o2 mark.
Can the Twins find ways to cross the plate and score runs? Well, if they do, then they have a tremendous shot at making Minnesota bettors very delighted. However, this has been easier said than done, as the Twins have only scored more than three runs in four contests up to this point.
Unlike the White Sox, Minnesota has gotten better production from their arms. Minnesota boasts a 3.66 ERA and has already received three quality starts from their starters.
The biggest concern for the Twins is their bullpen, as they have accumulated the third-highest ERA in the major leagues. There is nothing more disastrous than having your bullpen continually let you down, as usually the winningest squads in baseball have ‘pens that can shut the door when called upon.
Final White Sox-Twins Prediction & Pick
The Twins have an extremely high strikeout rate when up to bat, and this doesn't bode well against a guy like Kopech who lives for the punch-out. While this may be a close game in the late stages due to the fact that both teams are struggling offensively, the Twins bullpen has yet to show that they can be trusted with the game on the line. Chicago prevails in this AL Central showdown.
Final White Sox-Twins Pick: White Sox -1.5 (+162)
