The Orioles make the trip to Chicago to face the White Sox! These two teams are very different with the Orioles being one of the best teams in the MLB, while the White Sox have been one of the worst teams in the NBA so far this season. Our MLB odds series has our Orioles-White Sox prediction, odds, and pick for Thursday.
The Orioles are entering this series with a 30-17 record and just broke a two-game losing streak. Their offense has dipped a bit recently and they are currently in the middle of the pack, while their pitching has been great, and are a top-10 staff in the MLB. The Orioles have so much young talent behind the plate with Jordan Westburg, Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, Anthony Santander, Cedric Mullins, Colton Cowser, and Ryan Mountcastle making up the bulk of it, and there's even more too. They improved their pitching this past offseason by adding Corbin Burnes to go with Grayson Rodriguez, Cole Irvin, and Albert Suarez. The Orioles were the best team in the AL last season and they somehow improved this season and are in a battle with the Yankees and the Guardians as the best team in the AL.
The White Sox are competing with the Rockies and Marlins for the title of worst team in the MLB so far this season. They have a 15-34 record so far this season, and they just broke a four-game losing streak. They are the second-worst team in the MLB behind the plate and are also struggling on the mound, ranking near the bottom in pitching as well. Gavin Sheets, Paul DeJong, Andrew Vaughn, and Andrew Benintendi are standouts on an awful offense, while the only notable pitchers in the lineup are Erick Fedde and Garrett Crochet. The White Sox have struggled this season, and this is a terrible matchup for them because of how good the Orioles have been across the board.
Here are the MLB Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Orioles-White Sox Odds
Baltimore Orioles: -1.5 (-162)
Moneyline: -260
Chicago White Sox: +1.5 (+134)
Moneyline: +215
Over: 8.5 (-105)
Under: 8.5 (-115)
How to Watch Orioles vs. White Sox
Time: 7:40 pm ET
TV: MASN/ NBC Sports Chicago
Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)
Why The Orioles Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Orioles are starting Cole Irvin on the mound and he has a 4-1 record, a 2.76 ERA, and a 1.04 WHIP. Through 42.1 innings, he has allowed 13 runs on 36 hits with eight walks and 28 strikeouts up to this point in the season. The Orioles are 7-1 in his eight appearances this season. In his last start, he pitched 5.2 innings and allowed two runs on five hits with one walk and six strikeouts in an Orioles win. Irvin has been having a very good season in Baltimore and this is a favorable matchup against an offense that has struggled as much as the White Sox.
The Orioles' offense has been one of the best in the MLB but has dipped recently. They are 15th in team batting average at .242 after finishing last season with a .259 batting average. The offense is led by Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, and Colton Cowser lead the way in most of the batting categories. Adley Rutschman leads the way in batting average at .297 and in total hits at 55. Henderson leads the way in home runs at 16 and then in RBI at 34. Cowser then leads the way in OBP at .363. This offense will have a favorable matchup against Mike Clevinger, who has struggled this season on the mound for the White Sox.
Why The White Sox Will Cover The Spread/Win
The White Sox are starting Mike Clevinger on the mound where he has a 0-2 record, a 5.56 ERA, and a 1.85 WHIP. In his three starts this season, the White Sox are 1-2. In his last start, he pitched 4.2 innings and gave up three runs on five hits with two walks and five strikeouts. Clevinger has struggled a lot in his limited appearances this season and has a very difficult matchup against the Orioles and their offense behind the plate.
The offense for the White Sox has been awful this season. The White Sox are second to last in the MLB in team batting average at .217 after having a team batting average of .238 last season. Gavin Sheets, Andrew Benintendi, Andrew Vaughn, and Paul DeJong lead the way for the offense in most categories. Sheets leads the way in batting average at .243 and in OBP at .346. Andrew Benintendi then leads in RBI at 15, DeJong leads the way with seven home runs so far, and Vaughn leads the way in hits at 34. The White Sox offense gets a tough matchup in this spot against Cole Irvin who has been very good for the Orioles on the mound.
Final Orioles-White Sox Prediction & Pick
The Orioles are the better team in this game against the White Sox. Cole Irvin is better this season when compared to Mike Clevinger. The White Sox have struggled across the board on offense and the Orioles have been very good, but need a bounce back behind the plate. Expect them to win and cover easily in this one.
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Final Orioles-White Sox Prediction & Pick: Orioles -1.5 (-162)