ODDS ANALYSIS
The White Sox are starting to distance themselves from a lackluster start to the season and are finally enjoying some success on the road. The Sox won their first road series of the season and improved to 4-12 in away games by taking the final two of three at Milwaukee. The Sox enter the series winners in four of five up 3.25 units. Overall the Sox are in the red 3.69 units on the moneyline and 14.66 units on the runline. The Sox have played below the total in three of their last four and the under is 17-13-1 overall and 4-1-1 in six starts made by lefty John Danks.
Still waiting to experience their own resurgence, the Athletics fell 2-0 to Boston on Wednesday for their seventh loss in eight games, wasting a strong effort from Sonny Gray. The A’s have been a disaster at the betting window down 13.98 units on the moneyline. The over was 5-1-1 in seven A’s games prior to Wednesday and Oakland has exceeded the total 14 times in 16 home games. The over is a MLB-best 25-9-2 in Oakland’s 36 games overall.
PITCHING MATCHUP
John Danks (1-3, 5.12 ERA) had his best start of the season when the depleted bullpen needed it the most, allowing one run in seven innings in a win over Cincinnati on Sunday. He struck out four and walked three scattering six hits on 118 pitches.
Danks has had a nice career against the Athletics going 6-3 with a 2.38 ERA in 75.2 innings but has struggled on the road this season going 0-3 with a 7.82 ERA.
Jesse Chavez (1-3, 2.56 ERA) makes his fifth start of the year after four scoreless relief appearances. He’s 1-3 with a 3.24 ERA as a starter after giving up four runs on five hits with two walks and seven K’s in 6.2 innings of a loss at Seattle on Sunday.
Chavez has made one start in nine career appearances against the White Sox owning a 2-1 record and 3.05 ERA covering 20.2 innings. He’s fanned 20 but has given up four home runs.
QUOTE TO NOTE
“It’s not like he’s striking out a lot or flailing at pitches. He’s been hitting in some bad luck. You get frustrated when you’re not seeing results. My feeling is he needs to get the first hit out of the way. He hasn’t carried it over to defense, and he drew a walk to help us Tuesday night.” – A’s manager Bob Melvin on outfielder Coco Crisp, who has one hit in 28 at-bats since coming off the disabled list and 1 for 41 dating to last season.
LIVE BETTING or SITUATIONAL BETTING
Athletics shortstop Marcus Semien sailed a ball over first baseman Mark Canha’s head in the eighth inning of Wednesday’s 2-0 loss to Boston, a play that resulted in an insurance run for the Red Sox. It was Semien’s 12th of the season, a third of Oakland’s 36 total miscues on the season, the most in the Major Leagues. The A’s have committed at least one error in 11 consecutive games, their longest since a 12-game streak in April 2008. The 36 errors have resulted in 21 unearned runs, the most in the American League and third most in the majors. “You read about making errors, but we’re making great plays on top of it. We’re just not very timely with it,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said of his team’s defense.
PROP TALK
The most potent bat in the White Sox lineup is starting to get hot and the team has strung a few wins together, coincidence? Probably not. Jose Abreu, last year’s AL Rookie of the Year, has been the most consistent hitter in an otherwise weak lineup and its hard to think what this kid could do if others in the order were hitting enough to give him some protection. Abreu enters the series with Oakland riding a nine-game hit streak that raised his average 20 points and has clubbed six of the team’s 22 home runs on the season. His only hit in four career at-bats off A’s starter Jesse Chavez was a home run and, although the Sox aren’t a prolific home run hitting club and the A’s are good at keeping the ball in the yard, Abreu makes you think he could knock one out of the park every time he steps up.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
The White Sox won the final two of a three-game set at Milwaukee before heading West and look to improve on the AL’s worst road record. An improved offensive attack has the club encouraged that a turnaround is coming. Jose Abreu is batting .333 during a nine-game hit streak, Avisail Garcia has four two-hit performances in his last five and Adam Eaton had six hits 13 at-bats in the Milwaukee series. Starter John Danks is coming off his finest outing of the year and has spectacular career numbers against the Athletics.
By looking at the numbers it’s hard to figure out why the Athletics are where they are. They rank in the top 10 in runs per game and average while the pitching is in the middle of the pack in team ERA. A big concern for the A’s is defense after totaling a MLB-high 36 errors leading to 21 unearned runs. The A’s also failed to get a hit in 14 tries with runners in position Wednesday and were blanked. The bullpen has been shaky, too, prompting the club to add former Cardinals closer Edward Mujica to the mix. Can the A’s get it together before it’s too late?
Chicago 5, Oakland 3
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