The Chicago White Sox and the Minnesota Twins will begin a three-game series on Monday night. It's time to continue our MLB odds series and make a White Sox-Twins prediction and pick.
The White Sox have been one of the best teams in the MLB, and they've shown that through their dominance of the AL Central. Chicago currently leads their division by 10.5 games, the largest division lead in baseball. The Twins were expected to at least contend for the AL Central, but their season has been hugely disappointing. They are currently last in their division, trailing the White Sox by a full 18 games. Minnesota would love to score a win against their rival and play a little bit of spoiler in this one, so it should be a good one.
Here's how the bookmakers have set the odds for Monday's game.
MLB Odds: White Sox-Twins Odds
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Chicago White Sox -1 1/2 (-127)
Minnesota Twins +1 1/2 (+107)
Over 9 1/2 runs (-118)
Under 9 1/2 runs (-102)
Why The White Sox Could Cover The Spread
Chicago has built one of the most potent offenses in baseball. They rank inside the top ten in the league in batting average, OBP, and OPS. The White Sox will add up-and-coming outfielder Luis Robert back into this already-deadly lineup on Monday, making things even tougher for Minnesota pitcher Beau Burrows and the rest of the Twins pitching staff.
Burrows will start in this game, but he likely won't last all that long. He's posted an 11.00 ERA and a 2.00 WHIP over his last five appearances. Both of those numbers are heavily inflated due to the fact that Burrows has only made five relief appearances, but they do show that the White Sox should be able to knock in some early runs against him.
The Minnesota bullpen that will be pitching most of this game isn't exactly a stellar bunch. There are only two healthy relievers that have an ERA below 3.50, with most of the ERAs ranging well above 4.00. This is another very hittable group for the White Sox lineup.
Chicago will deploy Lucas Giolito to the mound in this series opener. Giolito has had a pretty solid season so far, putting up a 3.98 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP on the year. He's already faced the Twins twice this season, posting a combined 14 innings of work while only allowing four runs against Minnesota. There's no reason to think that Giolito won't continue the dominance of his division rival.
Why The Twins Could Cover The Spread
Minnesota has been a better offense than most people give them credit for. They either rank just outside the top ten or in it in batting average, OBP, OPS, and slugging percentage. Giolito has been great against them so far this season, but there are a couple of factors that go the Twins' way in this particular matchup.
Giolito has been a far worse pitcher whenever he is forced to start on the road. His ERA rises all the way to 4.27 whenever he plays away from home, with his opponent's batting average rising to .247 from .214. The Twins have been hot lately, scoring more than four runs in seven of their last ten games. Minnesota is far from a lock to put up runs, but there is a decent chance that they can score off of Giolito.
Final White Sox-Twins Prediction & Pick
This is a pretty easy pick. The Twins have been hot on offense, but their pitching situation is so bad that it's hard to justify picking them. The White Sox should absolutely crush Minnesota pitching the whole way through, and Giolito has proven he can be counted on for a solid start. Lock in the White Sox.
FINAL PICK: White Sox -1 1/2 (-127)
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