The Minnesota Twins (37-32, $1164) will wrap up their three game set at home against their division rival Chicago White Sox (30-38, -$1048) on Wednesday, looking to close out the series on a winning note.
ODDS ANALYSIS
Prior to this series, these two teams had already faced off 10 times this year with the Twins having the upper hand, collecting wins in seven of those 10 contests.
Minnesota was the shock of baseball through the end of May when they sat atop the AL Central standings for a moment. The Twins have since started to fall back to the pack, going 7-13 (-$550) so far in June. Interestingly, it has been the offense that has let them down of late with more than three runs scored only once in the last seven games and three in the last 15.
Chicago, meanwhile, snapped an eight game losing streak over the weekend, taking two out of three from a hot Texas Rangers club.
The fact they had lost eight straight is discouraging if you’re a White Sox’ fan, but their last two wins gives the team reason for hope, particularly considering they came with someone other than Chris Sale on the bump.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Speaking of Sale, he will be on the mound for the White Sox in Wednesday’s series finale against the Twins.
Chicago’s season may not be going the way the front office drew it up in the offseason, but the White Sox are still one of the best teams in the league when Sale leads the team into battle.
The 26-year old southpaw got off to a bit of a rough start, but has been nearly unhittable of late. Overall, he’s 6-3 with a 2.74 ERA and league leading 0.936 WHIP in 88 2/3 innings pitched over 13 starts.
Sale has pitched eight straight quality starts and is 4-2 with a 1.32 ERA in that span. In addition, he’s struck out at least 10 batters in six straight games and at least a dozen in five straight.
In his last outing against the Twins he lasted eight innings, allowing three earned runs and has allowed just four earned runs in 14 innings against them this year.
To counter Sale, the Twins will send 29-year old right-hander Phil Hughes to the mound.
Hughes had a breakthrough season for Minnesota last year with a 3.52 ERA that earned him a hefty extension. He has yet to live up to that extension here in 2015 as he is 5-6 with a 4.47 ERA and 1.246 WHIP.
Much of his issues this season stems from the long ball. He’s allowed a league leading 16 home runs and has, perhaps, found too much of the strike zone. He is also leading the league in walk rate at 0.9 per nine innings while his 10.3 hits per nine innings rate makes up the difference.
While his overall season has been lackluster at best, he’s done well in two starts against the Sox, pitching two quality starts, allowing just five runs in 13 combined innings.
QUOTE TO NOTE
After their second win against the Rangers on Sunday, White Sox manager Robin Ventura spoke about what the win means for a team that has been struggling, saying:
“It’s a great win for these guys. The way it’s been going, you finally break through and get some momentum going.”
LIVE/SITUATIONAL BETTING
While the pitching in general hasn’t lived up to expectations for the White Sox, the offense may be the biggest disappointment. The team brought in players like Melky Cabrera and Adam LaRoche to supplement Adam Eaton and Jose Abreu atop the order, but many of the returning players and nearly all of the new ones have produced considerably below expectations.
On the year, the Sox are dead last in the American League in runs scored with 232. That is 48 less than the Twins who themselves are just eighteenth overall in that category.
Individually, Jose Abreu is the only one actually contributing consistently. The second year first baseman out of Cuba is hitting .288 with 12 home runs and 40 RBIs while boasting a .829 OPS. His numbers are considerably down from a year ago, but look stellar compared to his teammates.
The team’s next highest OPS is .713 from Avisail Garcia who, aside from Abreu and Adam LaRoche (.707) is one of just three players with an OPS over Conor Gillaspie’s .675 mark.
Interestingly, the Twins have similar individual stats with one very good performer in Brian Dozier who has an OPS of .852 and a couple guys just above league average in Trevor Plouffe and Torii Hunter at .747 and .725 respectively.
The one thing that makes the Twins a bit different is that they have a little more young talent with upside. They also have Eddie Rosario (.735 OPS) and Eduardo Nunez (.818 OPS) who, despite limited at bats are still hitting at a respectable rate.
Of course the Twinkies also have newly promoted top prospect Byron Buxton, though the youngster looks a bit overmatched in the early going with just three hits in 25 at bats along with nine strike outs.
PROP TALK
Abreu continues to be the guy to watch in the White Sox’s lineup and that holds true on Wednesday, given his numbers against Hughes. The Cuban first baseman is 7 for 17 lifetime against him with three RBIs and a 1.062 OPS. Of course, Abreu is not alone in his success against the Twins’ righty.
A few sleeper picks to break out against Hughes include: Melky Cabrera, Alexei Ramirez and J.B. Shuck.
Cabrera’s bat was supposed to lengthen this lineup, but has yet to come around. Still he is 6 for 16 against Hughes. Ramirez, meanwhile, is 9 for 29 with a home run and Shuck has four hits in just nine at bats.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
The White Sox are an inconsistent team and have trouble putting runs on the board, but Sale is on fire right now and should be able to win despite likely receiving limited run support.
With Chicago’s offense yet to click on all cylinders, look for them to struggle to put runs on the board against Hughes, but manage just enough for the win with Sale handing it over to David Robertson (2.35 ERA) for the save.
Chicago 3, Minnesota 1
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 Wednesday, June 24, 2015, at 1:10 p.m. ET at Target Field. You can watch the contest live on the MLB Network.
