The White Sox will hope to put an end to their series losing streak Sunday afternoon when they collide with the division rival Royals in the finale of this crucial three-game set on the south side of Chicago.
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ODDS ANALYSIS
The Royals have been one of the bigger disappointments of the young season for MLB bettors. A year removed from being the fifth most lucrative bet in all of baseball, the defending World Series champs have only managed to split their first 38 games of the year, and because of it, have cost their wagering supporters a shade under $100 overall.
Most of Manager Ned Yost’s squads’ issues have occurred away from Kauffman Stadium where they sat 7-13 overall and down $565 overall heading into Friday’s series opener.
Things have quieted down on the south side of late with the Palehose dropping back-to-back series to the Rangers and Yankees before falling in extras in the opener to Houston Tuesday night. Regardless, Manager Robin Ventura is overlooking the second best bet in baseball that’s up a tick over $930 overall and has won 10 of its 16 played games in the Cell for a $352 return on investment.
PROBABLE PITCHERS
Since posting a solid 14-10 record and 3.20 ERA by allowing just 168 hits and 65 earned runs through 183 total innings in his first full season as a major leaguer, Yordano Ventura has done nothing but frustrate KC fans and crush the hopes of those that drafted him to their fantasy teams.
The third year pitcher does own a 4-2 record through eight starts to date, but his stat profiles are once again ugly. His ERA checks in at 4.85 and FIP at 5.49. On top of that, he owns a sickening 31:29 K/BB ratio which finds his WHIP in the 1.55 range. He’s gone 6+ innings in only three starts and only possesses a +.500 record due to his offense averaging 4.9 runs per game when he’s toed the bump.
After going 9-6 with a 3.75 ERA and striking out 139 batters in 139.1 innings of work after getting called up last season, many fantasy baseballers – including me – expected Rodon to fill in admirably as a potential No. 2 starter behind Chris Sale in the White Sox rotation. Not so fast my friends!
While he’s still striking out batters at a solid clip, the walks have been a real issue and a major reason why he’s failed to go deeper than the seventh inning in any of his eight overall starts. That might not be much of an issue in this start however with the free-swinging Royals taking the fewest free passes in all of baseball.
LIVE BETTING
These division rivals are set to square off against one another a ton over the next couple weeks with three set to go in Chicago through the weekend and another four more lined up the following week in Kansas City.
The Royals dominated this rivalry a in 2015 winning 13 of the 19 overall meetings, and have for the most part toyed with the White Sox the last couple seasons. The Cell has far from changed any of that with Chicago just 6-14 the last 20 times it hosted Kansas City.
QUICK PICK
Until Rodon shows he’s fully able to dominate and hand it over to Chicago’s No. 6 ranked bullpen, I cannot advise backing the current AL Central leaders in this matchup. When you add KC’s utter dominance of the Palehose to the equation, the choice becomes even clearer.
Making it that much easier is the fact that Ventura has actually been pretty decent versus Chicago throughout his career. He’s allowed just 33 hits and 16 earned runs and has only been hit to the tune of a .254 batting average against in six starts. Adam Eaton and Jose Abreu are the only two bats that’ve done much of anything against him.
Now the Royals are yet to see Rodon’s stuff, so if they struggle and find themselves down on the scoreboard early, I’d look to buy back in at a better price on the live betting lines. Rodon has failed to impress once this season, and I doubt that changes this afternoon.
MLB Odds: Royals 6, White Sox 4
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 Kansas City Royals and Chicago White Sox is scheduled for Sunday, May 22, 2016, at 2:10 p.m. ET at U.S. Cellular Field. The game will be televised live on WGN.
