ODDS ANALYSIS
The Chicago White Sox and Baltimore Orioles will make up games postponed from April because of the riots in downtown Baltimore with a doubleheader on Thursday. Chicago’s only scheduled visit to Baltimore was interrupted by public unrest and games that were to be played Apr. 27 and 28 were postponed. The teams will play a traditional single-admission twin-bill to make up the games.
The Sox seemingly turned a corner just over a week ago, beating Cleveland on May 18 for their sixth straight win and eighth in nine games to reach the .500 mark, but it’s been downhill since then. Chicago suffered its fourth straight loss and seventh in eight games since its successful run with a 10-9 defeat at Toronto Tuesday to reach the basement of the AL Central. Despite their nine run outburst Tuesday, scoring runs has been a problem with the under 7-2 in Chicago’s last nine and 25-17-1 for the season.
In the middle of a stretch where they play 17 of 20 games at Camden Yards, the Orioles are good at home but have yet to take advantage of the home-heavy part of their schedule, winning only six of the first 11 games following Tuesday’s 4-1 loss to Houston. The O’s are even on the moneyline over the first 11 games and in the red 3.88 units over the season. The O’s cashed the under Tuesday for the fourth straight game and the under is 7-3 in their last 10 and 22-18-3 on the year.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Chicago’s Chris Sale (3-2, 4.21 ERA) gave up four runs – three earned – over eight innings Saturday in a loss to the Twins. He walked one with 10 strikeouts, reaching double-digits in a game for a franchise record 20th time. He’s gone eight innings in each of his last three starts lowering his ERA from 5.96 to 4.21 in that span with 28 strikeouts.
Sale has three starts in nine career games versus Baltimore going 0-2 with a 5.06 ERA. He’s 0-1 with a 4.38 ERA in five lifetime appearances at Camden Yards with 18 hits and six walks allowed in 12.1 innings.
Baltimore’s Mike Wright (1-0, 0.00 ERA) had another brilliant outing tossing seven innings of shutout ball against the Marlins on Saturday, but came away with a no-decision in a 1-0 loss. He gave up just three hits with three walks and four strikeouts and has yet to allow a run over 14.1 innings in his first two big league starts.
Wright makes his third career start in his first appearance against the White Sox.
QUOTE TO NOTE
“When you’re not scoring a lot of runs, you’re not swinging the bats well or like you know you can, the tendency is to press and try to overdo it. I think you’ve seen that in the last few games.” – Orioles first baseman Chris Davis
LIVE BETTING or SITUATIONAL BETTING
With Thursday’s doubleheader a makeup of games that were postponed from April, both teams have their routines altered a bit to accommodate the schedule. The Sox were to make one trip to Baltimore this season, but the riots in the city changed all that with two games being postponed. An open date for both teams means the Sox will be making another trip. The adjusted schedule doesn’t affect the O’s since they are in the middle of a homestand anyway, but the Sox will play four games in three cities across two countries. And they’ll do it in three days. An afternoon game Wednesday in Toronto followed by Thursday’s twin-bill and a trip to Houston Friday to open a three-game weekend set. That’s a lot of travel and a lot of games and it has to take a toll.
PROP TALK
It’s been a struggle at the plate for Adam Jones over the last week, watching his average drop from .343 on May 20 to .310 after going hitless in three trips Tuesday. But the Orioles center fielder is a dynamic player and those types don’t slump for long. We didn’t expect him to keep up his ridiculous pace that had him batting over .400 in the first week of May but we also don’t expect prolonged slumps. Jones is a .375 lifetime hitter against Chris Sale with a home run among his hits and he sparks the slumping O’s with a few hits and RBIs.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
Maybe the White Sox aren’t slumping offensively. Going a few games with little run production could be called a slump but when it lasts 40 games that’s something else. The Sox did score nine runs Tuesday at Toronto – and lost – matching their total from the previous five games, and their lack of offense is why they are in the basement of the AL Central. Chris Sale has been outstanding in his last three starts, looking like the dominant starter he’s been, and gives the Sox a chance every time he takes the mound.
As inconsistent as the Orioles have been, they are still in the thick of the AL East chase. They collected their 20th win of the season Monday giving every team in the division at least that many victories. The club wasted some excellent outings from its starters with a team-wide hitting slump, but the O’s have plenty of firepower from the plate and will break out. Shortstop JJ Hardy will be more comfortable at the plate after a lengthy stay on the DL and Matt Wieters will be back in the lineup soon. Those two should help at the dish.
Baltimore 5, Chicago 2
The MLB odds for this game will be available first at BookMaker Sportsbook. BookMaker is going to have multiple betting options available for this nationally-televised baseball matchup. Live wagering during commercials offers an adjusted moneyline, individual inning run totals and next hitter results. Log in and start gambling during the game now!
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 Baltimore Orioles is scheduled for Thursday, May 28, 2015, at 1:05 p.m. ET at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The game will be televised live on WGN and MASN2.
