The Chicago White Sox and the Cleveland Indians face off for the third game of a four-game series tonight with the series deadlocked at 1-1. It’s time to continue our MLB odds series and make an Indians-White Sox prediction and pick.
Chicago is 5-6 to start the season, tied for last place in the AL Central division. They are -$202 on the money line so far and are coming off a loss to the Indians.
Cleveland is 6-4 and sits atop the AL Central. The Indians are +$11 on the money line so far, and have a little momentum behind them thanks to an excellent Shane Bieber start in yesterday's win.
Here’s how sportsbooks have set the opening Indians-White Sox odds.
MLB Odds: White Sox-Angels Odds
White Sox ML (-115)
Cleveland Indians ML (+105)
Over 7.5 Runs (+100)
Under 7.5 Runs (-120)
Why The Indians Could Win This Game
Cleveland will send their second-best arm to the mound tonight in Zach Plesac.
Plesac has been excellent to start the season, holding a 1.38 ERA through his first two starts. The right-hander's last start was particularly impressive, holding the Detroit Tigers offense to only three hits and no runs through seven innings of work.
While the Tigers offense and the White Sox offense are two separate beasts, Plesac has career success against Chicago. In five starts against the White Sox, Plesac holds an impressive 3.03 ERA.
Historically, Plesac has limited this lineup. In 54 at-bats, current White Sox batters have combined to hit .178 against the Indians hurler.
The White Sox have shown they can beat up lefties, but they struggle against right-handed starters. They are 2-5 in games started by a right-handed opposing pitcher, while they are 3-1 against left-handers.
On the offensive side, the Indians get to face a pitcher who has yet to show consistency in Carlos Rodon.
Rodon has pitched a total of 12 games and amassed an ERA of 5.34. Few Indians have many plate appearances against Rodon, but the one who does has put up solid numbers against him.
In 33 plate appearances facing the Chicago lefty, Jose Ramirez has batted .273 and knocked in 5 RBI's.
Look for Ramirez to piece together multiple quality at-bats against a pitcher who has struggled over the years.
Why The White Sox Could Win This Game
Although Rodon has struggled over the years, the White Sox can hope that his last outing is a sign of more to come.
Rodon pitched five scoreless innings against Seattle in his first outing of 2021, striking out nine Mariners. Perhaps the most promising sign was his increase in velocity.
The left-hander was touching 95 MPH with his fastball, a promising increase from last season when his average fastball speed was a touch below 93 MPH.
Now that he's healthy, Chicago is hoping Rodon can bounce back from a few rough years.
Additionally, the Indians have had very limited success against Rodon. If you take Ramirez out of the equation, the Indians are batting a miserable .121 off Rodon with four hits in 33 at-bats.
The White Sox offense has shown flashes of brilliance, but it hasn't been sustained success. Their best chance tonight is to wear out Plesac and get to the ‘pen as early as possible. The Sox are second in the league in walks, and if they can milk the pitch counts and get Plesac in the dugout, they'll have a good shot at taking the series lead.
Final Indians-White Sox Prediction & Pick
Both lineups have had limited success against the starters tonight, and both offenses have been held in check for the first two games of the series. Because of this, the Indians should hold a slight advantage with the superior pitcher on the mound and a lineup that has shown a little bit more life of late. Rodon can't be trusted quite yet, so roll with Plesac and the Tribe to pull out a tight win here as underdogs.
FINAL INDIANS-WHITE SOX PICK: CLEVELAND INDIANS (+105)
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