The Chicago White Sox take on the San Diego Padres. Check out our MLB odds series for our White Sox Padres prediction and pick.
Dylan Cease goes to the mound for the White Sox, while Mike Clevinger gets the call for the Padres.
If Justin Verlander had not turned back the clock at age 39 with one of the more remarkable “old man” pitching seasons in MLB history, Dylan Cease would be the American League Cy Young Award favorite. Alek Manoah has been great and Shane McClanahan had a good run, but Dylan Cease has been better than those two pitchers. He has rewritten the White Sox record book in 2022, and what's more impressive than his numerous milestones is that Cease has done all this while the White Sox have been conspicuously bad at the plate. Chicago is the most disappointing team in the majors this year, and it's not even a close call. This team was supposed to walk away with the American League Central Division championship, and it didn't even come close. Cease, though, pitched like an ace and a big dog throughout the campaign, regularly doing his job and handling what was within his power to control. It's a study in excellence, yes, but it's also a portrait in composure. Cease constantly blocked out the noise and the outside distractions. He could have lost his focus or his appetite for battle with the Sox descending into misery and mediocrity, but he didn't allow that to happen. That, in many ways, is the true achievement of Cease's season. He didn't allow the sludge and the bitterness of the season to get to him. He remained clean. With a 2.06 ERA entering his final start of the season, Cease will obviously try to shut down the Padres and finish 2022 with an ERA below 2.00. Let's see if he can pull it off against a Padre team which simply can't hit well in Petco Park this year.
Mike Clevinger's September ERA was nearly eight runs. He made five starts and got tagged in four of them: 23 innings pitched, 20 runs allowed. With the Padres just 1.5 games ahead of the Phillies for the second wild card spot, and just two games ahead of the hard-charging Brewers for the third wild card spot, it's very clear: San Diego is not home free in this playoff chase. The focus is and has been on the Phillies and Brewers, as it should be. That is the most likely “do or die” race, in which the winner goes to the playoffs and the loser stays home, but if the Padres keep leaking oil in these final few days of the season, the Phils and Brewers could both catch fire and leave San Diego on the outside looking in. The Padres desperately need a strong game from Clevinger in this spot. They also need their hitters to wake up.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the White Sox-Padres MLB odds.
MLB Odds: White Sox-Padres Odds
Chicago White Sox: -1.5 (+152)
San Diego Padres: +1.5 (-184)
Over: 7 (-122)
Under: 7 (+100)
Why The White Sox Could Cover the Spread
The White Sox could have come to San Diego and tanked. They could have stopped caring, now that their season is toast and their playoff plans have been shattered. Instead, they played a good, solid, professional game, beating the Padres 3-1. That should answer any questions about whether the White Sox will mail in this series and not show up.
The Padres, meanwhile, just can't score at Petco Park. They are averaging below 3.7 runs per game at home this season. They average almost five runs per game on the road. It's crazy, and it is driving San Diego fans nuts.
Why The Padres Could Cover the Spread
After another bad offensive performance on Friday, the Padres will bounce back. They have to. If they lose here and the Phillies sweep a doubleheader against the Washington Nationals, the Padres will be tied for the second wild card. If they lose, the Phillies sweep, and the Brewers beat the Marlins, the Padres will be just one game ahead of the Brewers for the third wild card. San Diego really needs this win. Urgency should be the Padres' best friend.
Final White Sox-Padres Prediction & Pick
This is a stay-away game. Cease-Clevinger is clearly a matchup which favors the White Sox, but the Padres badly need to win. If you insist on a pick, go with Cease and the Sox, but really, you should hold off.
Final White Sox-Padres Prediction & Pick: White Sox -1.5
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