.
The Minnesota Twins (35-30, $1157) were the talk of baseball for a while as they worked their way to the top of the AL Central. The magic has since worn off as they have slid back a bit, but they’re still way above the Chicago White Sox (28-36, -$953) in the standings and will look to widen that gap even more as they kick off a series against them Monday night.
ODDS ANALYSIS
In 10 games this year, the Twins have owned the White Sox, winning seven of ten games. Chicago is at a further disadvantage with this game being at Target Field.
The White Sox were swept by the Twins in four games the last time they were in Minnesota and are just 12-23 on the road this year.
Minnesota, meanwhile, loves playing at home and are 21-12 at Target Field. They’re also 22-12 against the AL Central.
While all signs in the trends point towards the Twins, here is one that does not: Minnesota is just 5-11 in June and have dropped nine of their last 12, though in fairness Kansas City, Texas and St. Louis are all tougher teams than the White Sox at this point.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Hoping to capitalize on their interdivisional success, the Twins will send Tommy Milone to the mound to help get Minnesota back in the win column.
Milone is a 28-year old southpaw that is 3-1 with a 3.67 ERA and 1.248 WHIP in 41 2/3 big league innings this year.
He has pitched in a bit of luck as his FIP is 5.29, though some of that is skewed as he is reliant on his defense with a strikeout rate of just 5.6, in line with his career mark of 6.4.
This game figures to be a battle of the lefties as the White Sox will counter Milone with John Danks.
The 30-year old southpaw is the weak point in the Sox rotation. After bursting onto the scene as a young gun, Danks has never fully recovered from injury. This year, he is 3-7 with a 5.16 ERA and 1.453 WHIP in 75 innings over 13 starts.
One thing Danks has going for him is a good change up when he is on. When things are right, that change can help him find success. He does have a shutout this year against the Astros and had pretty good stuff his last time out, going seven innings of three run ball against the Pirates. In one start against the Twins this year he lasted just two and a third innings, giving up seven runs.
QUOTE TO NOTE
On Wednesday, the White Sox dropped their sixth straight game and manger Robin Ventura let off some steam after the game with the following remarks:
“You get tired of tipping your cap. Eventually, you’ve got to be able to answer back to the best pitchers in the game. We’re going to face pitchers just like this and we’re going to face better ones. You have to be able to answer the bell and mount something that’s going to be a little more than what we’re doing right now.”
LIVE/SITUATIONAL BETTING
As evidenced by the quote above, the White Sox’s offense is not performing up to par right now.
On the year, Chicago has scored the fewest runs in the American League and second fewest in all of baseball, plating 223 in 64 games. Lately, it has been even worse as the Sox have scored just three runs in the last four games.
Milone offers the White Sox an opportunity to push more runs past the plate as he doesn’t stack up with some of the arms they’ve been facing. Still, this whole year has been a struggle offensively.
Up and down the lineup for Chicago, the whole team has under produced. Even Jose Abreu has regressed. His .833 OPS leads the team as do his 12 home runs and 40 RBIs, but a year ago his OPS was 131 points higher.
Still, he is not the issue right now. Everyone else is the issue. Outside of Abreu, no player has an OPS over .738 and outside of Avisail Garcia (.738) and Adam LaRoche (.732), both having cooled of late, the rest of the team has an OPS+ of 88 or below, providing well below league average production.
On the other side, even when they were going well, the Twins’ offense was doing it with a lot of smoke and mirrors. Individually, the team has just four active players with at least 100 at bats and an OPS+ over 100. While not overly impressive, that is one more than the Sox.
Brian Dozier is hitting well with a .875 OPS thanks to 13 long balls. Other than him, the offense is all about Trevor Plouffe (.757 OPS), Eddie Rosario (.733 OPS) and Torii Hunter (.728 OPS).
PROP TALK
Both Torii Hunter and Joe Mauer have dominated Danks in their careers. Mauer’s season has been his second straight disappointing one, but he is still 23 for 60 lifetime against Danks with nine RBIs and a .889 OPS. Hunter has been even better. His average is a bit lower at .327 after going 17 for 52, but he has four home runs and 11 RBI against him.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
The White Sox’s money spent on their lineup has largely gone to waste and so has that spent on the pen. They do have a couple good arms down there, but with a 3.91 cumulative ERA, the unit is not doing its job.
Neither the White Sox nor the Twins have positive answers at a number of positions, but the Twins have at least shown the ability to win this year. Look for the Twins to put together a couple innings and get enough off Danks to beat the Sox.
Minnesota 5, Chicago 3
The MLB lines for this contest will first be released by BookMaker Sportsbook. Gamble on the game between every half inning with BookMaker’s live betting feature. Along with an adjusted in-game moneyline, you can wager on what will happen in the next at-bat or how many runs will be scored in the next inning. Live betting is the most exciting way to play!
Access live betting lines from your
mobile device at
BookMaker Sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on television with BookMaker’s live betting platform. Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here so start betting with BookMaker today! The ballgame pitting the Chicago White Sox versus the Minnesota Twins will commence Monday, June 22, 2015, at 8:10 p.m. ET at Target Field. The matchup will be broadcast live on ESPN2.
