Clearly, at 45-48 and 42-50 respectively, the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago White Sox have been amongst baseball's biggest disappointments this season. Both offenses could be in store for a long day on Saturday against some great starting pitching.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Sure, it's a little concerning for Chris Sale that he is going to be pitching against a team which seems to have found its stride offensively in recent days, but we have no fears as a live bettor about his abilities in this one.
Sale continues to get free outs time and time again via the strikeout, and his 163 Ks already leaves him on a pace for around 275 strikeouts this year.
He's already pitched against Cleveland once this season, allowing just four hits and a run over eight innings. We're not saying that that is the expectation in this game, but it is certainly a reasonable possibility.
The problem Sale might run into is the same sort of issue he had the first time he faced the Tribe. That day, he ran into a red hot Corey Kluber. Now, he draws an also-hot Carlos Carrasco.
Carrasco is a live bettors' dream. He rarely walks batters with just 24 free passes issued in 114.1 innings, and even though many figured that he would slow down in his first full year as a starter, he just has shown no signs of that in the second half of the year.
Carrasco has fanned 13 batters in his last 13 innings, keeping right there with his K/9 of 10.08 this season.
Needless to say, there should be a lot of fast innings.
ADVANCED STATS
You wouldn't believe that the White Sox have the worst offense in baseball, but by a lot of metrics, they do. According to FanGraphs, they have an offensive rating of -99.4, disgustingly 22 points worse than anyone else in baseball, and they are the only team in the bigs to actually have a negative WAR with its regular lineup men.
Power has been non-existent this year for the Pale Hose, as they have a .116 ISO, and they are striking out at an incredibly high rate of 20.3 percent.
TALKING BULLPENS
Normally, when you have a team which ranks No. 1 in the league in total strikeouts, you're getting a lot of help from your bullpen.
Not so much with the Indians.
Cleveland's pen is good for sure, but it isn't going to get a ton of free outs as you would suspect the top bullpens in the game would manage. Granted, we aren't all that worried about the White Sox coming up with a ton of clutch hits to screw up live betting as we saw with their terrible offensive numbers above, but fewer strikeouts means a greater chance to hit the ball and a greater chance to make something happen offensively.
Exhibit A is Ryan Webb, a man who has just 19 strikeouts in 28 innings of work in relief this year. Yes, he has a 2.57 ERA and theoretically looks reliable, but 10 walks in 28 innings isn't good enough, and luck is due to catch up with him.
Closer Cody Allen is the exception. We're selling on the rest of the Cleveland pen, but if this game gets into the ninth, we're confident that Allen can shut the door for live bettors. He has 62 strikeouts over just 40 innings this year, and though he has been a bit unlucky and allowed 17 runs in that span, keep in mind that he has only allowed 42 base runners. That's an insanely high ratio of base runners to runs scored, and there's no way that it will keep up over time.
The MLB odds for this game will be available first at 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!
Load your betting bankroll from your smartphone with BookMaker's new cashier feature! Depositing and withdrawing funds from your account has never been easier. BookMaker's live betting platform means you always have access to odds and lines to every sporting event. Click here, and start wagering today! First pitch for the game between the Chicago White Sox and the Cleveland Indians is scheduled for Saturday, July 25, 2015 at 7:10 p.m. ET at Progressive Field in Cleveland, OH. The contest will be televised live on WGN.
