The White Sox enter the weekend set with Atlanta looking to continue their recent strong play and head into the All-Star break with a little momentum. They have a great opportunity to do just that against the lowly Braves, who were just swept by the Phillies and are on pace for 109 losses this season.
You can bet on MLB odds at BookMaker.eu every day of the season.
ODDS ANALYSIS
It’s been a rather rocky first half of the season for the White Sox. After starting the year by winning 23 of their first 33 games and looking like the team to beat in the AL Central, things unraveled quickly. Over their next 36 games, the Sox won just 10 times and fell three games under .500.
But following Wednesday night’s 5-0 win over the Yankees, the Sox are back on a roll having won 11 of their last 16 games and five straight series. The ChiSox sit at 44-41 entering the weekend set with Atlanta and, at the very least, remain firmly in play for an AL wild card spot. The Sox are 7-3 in their last 10 home games in the black 4.41 units in that spell. They have a chance to continue their surge against the Braves, who have dropped 10 of 13 after getting swept by the Phillies.
PROBABLE PITCHERS
Joel De La Cruz (0-2, 5.25 ERA) gets another crack in the Braves rotation and hopes this outing is better than his last. The righty was touched for seven runs – four earned – over six frames in Monday’s loss to the Phillies. Six of the nine hits and all seven runs he allowed came in the second inning, which means he was great for the other five innings. In fact, he retired 12 of the final 15 batters he faced.
That’s hardly a consolation for the rookie who has lost his first two big league starts. De La Cruz had a solid debut on June 29, limiting the Indians to three runs and seven hits over six innings of a 3-0 loss. The Braves are dealing with a handful of injuries to their rotation, so De La Cruz will likely stick around for a bit longer.
Jose Quintana (6-8, 3.06 ERA) snapped a seven-game losing streak by allowing two hits and a run over seven innings against the Astros on Sunday. Much of the frustration had to do with the White Sox lack of offense. Since his losing skid started on May 14, Quintana was MLB’s least-supported starter with a 1.37 run support average during that time.
Quintana took it upon himself to end his slide and dominated the Astros. He gave up a homer to George Springer leading off the Astros first before shutting them down completely. The outing also ended a streak of subpar performances where the lefty had allowed 20 earned runs in his previous five starts and saw his ERA balloon from 2.13 to 3.18 in that stretch.
LIVE BETTING
It took a while, but Atlanta’s Freddie Freeman is starting to hit like the best player on the Braves. After hitting just .251 with a .338 on-base percentage in 50 games during April and May, with eight homers, 16 extra-base hits and 15 RBIs in that two-month span, Freeman has hit .355 in 32 games in June and July. Over that stretch, Freeman has a .429 on-base percentage, a .669 slugging percentage, 22 extra-base hits, six homers and 16 RBIs.
In 26 games since June 7, Freeman blazed at .396 with 20 extra-base hits. The Braves are just 12-14 in those games. Not great, but certainly a hell of a lot better than their 16-41 record through June 6. And did I mention that he’s hit lefties better this season than in any previous year? He has. The left-handed hitting first baseman is batting .328 against lefties in 116 at-bats, compared to .270 against righties. He’ll get a chance to improve those numbers against southpaw Quintana.
QUICK PICK
The Sox are back on a roll and would like nothing better than to close out the first half of the year with another series victory. The stars are aligned for them with the sad-sack Braves coming to town. Atlanta has been a train wreck all season, and while we knew they were going to be bad, it’s hard to imagine they would be this bad. Atlanta is dead last in the majors in batting average, runs per game, homers and OPS, and things won’t get much better against the Sox.
Quintana has been solid all season and is coming off his best outing in some time. His record is deceiving since his mates haven’t given him much support. That should change in this matchup. De La Cruz is out there to eat some innings while the other hurlers recuperate and is likely a bullpen candidate if he stays with the big club. And that’s a big if.
MLB Odds: Chicago 6, Atlanta 2
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 Atlanta Braves and Chicago White Sox is scheduled for Saturday, July 9, 2016, at 2:10 p.m. ET at U.S. Cellular Field. The game will be televised live on WGN.
