The Toronto Blue Jays take on the Chicago White Sox. Check out our MLB odds series for our Blue Jays White Sox prediction and pick.
Kevin Gausman gets the ball for the Blue Jays, while Dylan Cease takes the hill for the White Sox.
Kevin Gausman has a 3.21 ERA. He posted an ERA of 2.19 in the month of April, then 2.72 in May. So far in June, he has pitched to a 6.75 ERA. Part of the problem is the Toronto defense, which has made errors behind him and put him in bad positions. However, Gausman has clearly not been as good at pitching out of jams. He has also lost the command he had early in the season, when he was dominating American League hitters.
Check this out: Gausman did not walk a single hitter until May 7 of this season. He didn't walk two batters in a game until May 24. However, in June, Gausman has already walked five hitters in three starts. What has also changed in June is that Gausman has given up almost twice as many hits (22) as his number of innings pitched (12). He has allowed only two home runs this year, but in his most recent start, the Orioles hit the ball hard against him, lacing a lot of line drives and spraying the ball into open areas. Gausman does need his defense to be better, but he was pitching around trouble in the first two months of the season, and he has stopped doing that in June. Toronto needs him to get back on the beam and pitch like an ace, especially with Jose Berrios failing to be the ace-like stopper the Blue Jays were counting on.
Dylan Cease has a 2.91 ERA. In a recent loss to the Dodgers, Cease was undone by his defense, whose mistakes led to six unearned runs. Cease has a bad start every now and then, but he has usually been very strong this season. In his last nine starts going back to May 2, Cease has allowed six or more runs in three starts (one of those being the game with six unearned runs against the Dodgers), but no more than one earned run in the other six starts. He has been able to pitch at a very high level over two and a half months, minus the occasional hiccup. It's instructive that when he has a bad start, he regularly bounces back with an excellent one. The White Sox should be a much better team than they are; Cease is one of the few players who bears no fault for how this season is unfolding. He has done his job really well.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Blue Jays-White Sox MLB odds.
MLB Odds: Blue Jays-White Sox Odds
Toronto Blue Jays: -1.5 (+118)
Chicago White Sox: +1.5 (-142)
Over: 9 (-118)
Under: 9 (-104)
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Why The Blue Jays Could Cover the Spread
The Blue Jays know that Kevin Gausman can pitch better than he has in recent weeks. This is a very important “prove it” kind of game for Gausman, who started the season brilliantly and needs to be on top of his game for the Jays to be a top-line American League pennant contender. Gausman will answer the challenge here, leading the Jays to a win over a very tough pitcher, Dylan Cease. The Jays have earned more trust and more benefit of the doubt than the White Sox have so far this season.
Why The White Sox Could Cover the Spread
After winning on Monday against Toronto, the White Sox — who are still very talented — can come to the ballpark knowing they are capable of beating good teams and getting on a roll. This team is itching to bust loose and deliver the kind of winning spree that will catapult the team back into contention in the American League Central.
Final Blue Jays-White Sox Prediction & Pick
This is a stay-away game due to Kevin Gausman's uncertain form, but if you have to make a pick, go with the Sox.
Final Blue Jays-White Sox Prediction & Pick: White Sox +1.5
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