Indians vs. White Sox Pick
Can the Chicago White Sox put up any fight against the Cleveland Indians when the two meet up this afternoon at 2:10PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, the Indians are favored on the road, as they are getting odds of -230 to win, while the White Sox are getting a money line of +205 to win. The over/under total for the contest is listed at 9.5 runs. Cleveland has won six of its last nine meetings with the White Sox this season.
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The pitching matchup today has James Shields (2-5, 5.72 ERA) on the mound for the White Sox to face Trevor Bauer (14-8, 4.46) of the Indians. Bauer has been largely good in recent weeks, as he has allowed 1 run or less in six of his last eight appearances. Bauer has 55 strikeouts this season with 20 walks and a 1.43 WHIP. Shields hasn’t been good, but he is improving based on what he had been doing prior. He has allowed three runs or less in three of his last four starts. This season, Shields has 73 strikeouts with 42 walks and a 1.54 WHIP.
Cleveland is on an 11-game win streak entering today thanks to a four-game sweep of the Tigers in Detroit this weekend. The Indians are 80-56 overall and 44-27 on the road. Cleveland is now averaging 5.00 runs per game while allowing just 3.68 per contest. Edwin Encarnacion is leading the team this season with 32 home runs and 82 RBI while Jose Ramirez has 47 doubles, 22 home runs, 66 RBI and a .310 batting average.
The White Sox are coming off a series win over the Rays at home, but they have still lost four of their last six games. Chicago is now 54-81 overall and 32-35 at home. Chicago is scoring just 4.29 runs per game while allowing 5.09 per contest. Jose Abreu is leading the White Sox with 36 doubles, 27 home runs and 82 RBI. Avisail Garcia is adding 22 doubles, 14 homers and 64 RBI.
The Indians are looking like the team that won the ALCS a year ago right now. They are hitting the ball well and getting their top-level pitching once again. If there is going to be a team to stop them, it certainly doesn’t seem to be the White Sox. Chicago has some nice pieces, but the White Sox don’t have the pitching to contend with the top teams right now. Cleveland is listed as -145 by giving up 1.5 runs. I think the Tribe should be able to handle that today.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: CLEVELAND INDIANS -1.5 (-145)