The Minnesota Twins will begin a seven-game road trip Monday as they travel to take on their division rival Chicago White Sox. The White Sox will look to stretch their lead in the AL Central while the Twins will hope to play spoiler to another division rival after notching a series win against the Cleveland Indians. Despite having drastically different records, tonight's game should be a good one. It's time to continue our MLB odds series and make a Twins-White Sox prediction and pick.
Before we do that, let's see how the Vegas bookmakers have set the line for the game.
MLB Odds: Twins-White Sox Odds
Minnesota Twins ML (+116)
Chicago White Sox ML (-126)
Over 8 runs (-122)
Under 8 runs (+102)
Why The Twins Could Cover The Spread
Although the Twins own the worst record in their division, it doesn't tell the whole story of their team. Their offense allows them to compete with anyone. They rank eighth in MLB in most major batting statistics and also rank third in home runs hit. Minnesota has also been ridiculously hot lately, scoring seven or more runs in four of their last five games.
In addition to their strong offense, the Twins will also have a solid pitcher on the mound tonight. Kenta Maeda will be entrusted with the start in the series opener.
Maeda has been consistently solid throughout the season, providing decent but unspectacular performances. His standard pitching performance is a couple runs given up through five innings, which is what I expect from him tonight.
It helps that the White Sox are significantly worse against right-handed pitching. Another factor working in Minnesota's favor is the fact that the Chicago batters, who have faced him, haven't fared well against him. There's only three White Sox batters who sport an average higher than .250 against Maeda.
Why The White Sox Could Cover The Spread
Starting pitching is obviously a deciding factor in lots of ball games, and this one is no different. The White Sox will have the advantage in that category, with ace Lucas Giolito making the start Monday.
Giolito is one of the more consistent starters in MLB, as shown by his last seven games. He has gotten through six or more innings in all of them, and hasn't allowed more than four runs in any of those starts. The last time the right-hander faced the Twins, he pitched an eight inning, one-run gem. Giolito always gives his team a chance to win, and I expect he will again in this one.
While Chicago's lineup has been dormant lately, there's reason to believe that could change Monday. Maeda struggles to work deep into games, meaning that Minnesota's bullpen will be forced to pitch four or five innings. The Twins' relief corps has been solid, but asking for four good innings against a dangerous Chicago lineup may be too tall of an ask.
Final Twins-White Sox Prediction & Pick
In a game that is pretty close to a coin flip odds-wise, I'll stick with the pitching advantage. The Twins have been hitting well but Giolito is a consistently good pitcher. I also wouldn't be surprised to see the White Sox wake up their bats against a mediocre pitcher in Maeda.
FINAL PICK: Chicago White Sox ML (-126)
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