It is an AL Central clash as the Chicago White Sox visit the Kansas City Royals. It is time to continue our MLB odds series with a White Sox-Royals prediction, pick, and how to watch.

The White Sox enter the game after winning two of three against the Reds, including a 17-4 beat down of them yesterday. They scored 11 runs in the second inning on the way to a huge victory. The White Sox have been disappointing overall this year, currently sitting at 12-23 on the season. They have won five of their last seven though, and it is a nice rebound after their ten-game losing streak. The Royals may be solidifying themselves as the worst team in baseball. They have won just nine times this year and just dropped two of three to the Athletics. The pitching has been bad, as they gave up 18 runs in three games to the A's.

Here are the White Sox-Royals MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

MLB Odds: White Sox-Royals Odds

Chicago White Sox: -1.5 (+118)

Kansas City Royals: +1.5 (-142)

Over: 8.5 (-110)

Under: 8.5 (-110)

How To Watch White Sox vs. Royals

TV: NBCSCH/BSKC

Stream: MLB.TV

Time: 7:40 PM ET/ 3:40 PM PT

*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why The White Sox Could Cover The Spread

The White Sox need to figure out how to get consistent hitting. They are hitting just .241 on the season, and have an OBP of .305. In the last seven days, they have picked it up though. They are up to .264 in batting average, with a .344 OBP, which has resulted in the White Sox getting some wins. The big issue is getting hit daily. In wins this year, they are hitting .311 on the season and slugging .477. That drops to .201 and .342 in losses this year, as their strike-out numbers skyrocket.

A major part of that has been the play of Yasmani Grandal. In wins this year, Grandal is hitting .422 with an OPS of 1.157. He has nine RBIs in those games and two home runs. In losses, Grandal is hitting just .158 with one home run, two RBIS, and 17 strikeouts. If Grandal is on and hitting well, then the White Sox win. Today may be an on-day. Grandal is facing a right-handed pitcher, and he has feasted on that this year. He is hitting .304 with two home runs and eight RBIs when facing a righty this year.

Beyond Grandal, Andrew Vaughn needs to have a good day as well. He leads the team in RBIs with 24 and has been getting a fair amount of extra-base hits. Last time out, he was a home run away from the cycle, as he drove in four runs in the game.

The White Sox will put their best on the hill today. Dylan Cease will be taking the mound for this one. While he is coming off back-to-back poor outings, the start of the season should give hope for the White Sox. In his first five starts, Cease was 2-0 with a 2.73 ERA. That had jumped up to an ERA of 4.58 due to his last two starts. He needs to work on being more efficient though, as he has thrown nearly 100 pitches in each of his last six starts, while only getting through six innings once.

Why The Royals Could Cover The Spread

Ultimately, for as bad as the White Sox have been at the plate, hitting just .234 this season. Consequently, they find themselves in the basement of the AL Central. Not only are the Royals not hitting, they are not scoring either. they have scored just 136 runs this year, which is 26th in the majors. It is also 19 runs less than the White Sox. It is not like they are leaving a ton of runners in scoring position. They are 14th in the majors in leaving runners in scoring position on the year. They are just not getting that chance, ranking 29th in at-bats with runners in scoring position.

Leading the team in RBIs is Salvardor Pere. He has 19 runs batted in this year and has done it with the aid of seven home runs. Perez has had a great last four games. In his last four games, he has scored five times, got a hit in all of them while going seven for 16, and hit two home runs. The Royals were able to score some runs as well, scoring 27 runs in those four games. Sadly for Perez, it was not enough, as the pitching staff gave up 30 runs and the Royals lost three of them.

On the hill, today for the Royals will be Zack Greinke. His last time out was the best of the year for him, going five innings, giving up just three hits and no runs or walks. That was a nice bounceback after his seven runs in 3.2 innings the start before that. On the year, Greinke has a 5.25 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP.

Final White Sox-Royals Prediction & Pick

Unless Greinke can turn back the clock to his old self like he did last time out, this one should not be much of a contest. Greinke has been bad this year, and while the White Sox struggle to hit, the Royals struggle more. Even when they are hitting, the pitching staff is getting beat up and they are losing games. It is hard to imagine this going their way unless they get a lot of luck. The White Sox will run away with this one.

Final White Sox-Royals Prediction & Pick: White Sox -1.5 (+118)