The Oakland Athletics will conclude their battle with the Chicago White Sox in the final game of a three-game series Sunday afternoon. With that said, it’s a good time to check out our MLB odds series, which includes our Athletics-White Sox prediction and pick we have laid out below.
Oakland is currently in baseball hell. Between the low payroll, outdated stadium, and putrid 39-64 record, fans do not have much to look forward to the rest of the year. Any joy left may be gone by next month, as there are still players to be traded from this roster.
Chicago is an even 50-50, third place in the AL Central and just 3.5 games out of the final Wild Card spot. As players have missed time with injuries, it appears that this team is finally getting healthy. Just in time, too, with the trade deadline approaching.
Here are the Athletics-White Sox MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Athletics-White Sox Odds
Oakland Athletics: +1.5 (+122)
Chicago White Sox: -1.5 (-146)
Over: 8 (-105)
Under: 8 (-115)
Why The Athletics Could Cover The Spread
Adam Oller will be Sunday afternoon's starter, and he has struggled so far this season. However, the 8.07 ERA does not tell the whole story of his season. In his last seven games, Oller has a 4.58 ERA in 17.2 innings. Oller has surrendered nine home runs in his 32.1 innings this season. There is a path to Oller having success, and he seems to be turning around his season. In the bullpen, Oakland is slightly below average, ranking 20th with a 4.11 ERA. Zach Jackson, A.J. Puk, and Sam Moll have impressed this year, all with ERAs under 3.00.
Offensively, Oakland has been abysmal. Their .215 batting average is dead-last in MLB, with just 89 home runs. Rookie Seth Brown has been mashing since the All-Star break, with a .440 average and five home runs in his seven games. Brown has 15 home runs on the season, which is best on the team. Sean Murphy, who contenders should be making phone calls about, has 12 home runs with a .241 average. Ramon Laureano has returned from his suspension to hit 10 home runs and steal 10 bases in his 72 games.
Why The White Sox Could Cover The Spread
Enigmatic Tim Anderson has a three-game suspension looming, but went 2-4 in Saturday's game. His absence will be underscored by the continued successes of Jose Abreu (.299 average, 11 home runs) and Andrew Vaughn (.291 average, 10 home runs). Chicago as a team is hitting .257, ranking fourth in the league. Their 86 home runs are fifth-lowest in the league, but 176 doubles make up for the lack of home run power. Chicago will not need much offense in this one, as all they need to do is outslug the anemic Oakland offense.
Even less offense is needed when Dylan Cease is on the mound. Cease will take his 2.03 ERA to the bump in this one, striking out 12.5 batters per nine innings. His dominant offerings culminate in a 95th percentile ranking for whiff percentage. Chicago's 4.06 bullpen ERA is 19th in baseball, but there are some dominant relievers. Not many will be called upon in this one, but Kendall Graveman, Reynaldo Lopez, and Tanner Banks all have ERAs below 3.00. In close games, electric closer Liam Hendriks owns a 3.38 ERA with 19 saves and a 13.2 K/9 rate.
Final Athletics-White Sox Prediction & Pick
No need to overthink this with Dylan Cease on the mound.
Final Athletics-White Sox Prediction & Pick: Chicago -1.5 (-146), under 8 (-115)
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