The New York Yankees (29-10) and the Chicago White Sox (19-20) made headlines for all the wrong reasons on Saturday. White Sox catcher Yasmani Grandal took exception to shortstop Tim Anderson being called “Jackie Robinson” by Yankees hitter Josh Donaldson and the benches cleared in New York’s 7-5 win. After being rained out on Friday, they will meet twice on Sunday, hopefully with cooler heads prevailing.
The Yankees will start RHP Jameson Taillon (4-1, 3.28) in the first game and RHP Luis Severino (3-0, 3.63) in the nightcap. Chicago counters with RHP Johnny Cueto (0-0, 0.00) and RHP Michael Kopech (0-1, 1.54). The opener starts at 3:05 p.m. ET, with the nightcap set for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. For betting purposes, we will focus on the second game.
White Sox Road Trip Continues
Chicago is 2-10 in their last 12 games against the Yankees and have lost four straight at Yankee Stadium. Overall they are 10-10 on the road this season and 6-5 against the AL East. The White Sox are 14-16 against right-handed pitchers going into the opener.
The White Sox scratched infielder from Saturday’s starting lineup with a leg injury, and Jose Abreu was the DH for just the sixth time this season. Anderson was 2-for-4 and leads the Majors with 17 multi-hit games this season, while Abreu launched a three-run homer on Saturday. Josh Harrison and Leury Garcia had RBI doubles, while A.J. Pollock was 2-for-4.
Anderson leads the White Sox with a .350 average, and Luis Robert is batting .297. Abreu is hitting just .207 but is tied for the Chicago lead with 17 RBI. Robert also has 17 RBI to go with six homers, while Anderson, Abreu, Andrew Vaughn, and Gavin Sheets all have four homers.
Kopech lost to the Yankees last Sunday despite allowing just one hit in six innings. He walked four batters and gave up three runs, all in the second inning while striking out three. Kopech has gone six innings in two start starts and allowed four hits or less in every start this season.
The May 15 outing was the first start of Kopech’s career against the Yankees, but he’s faced them before as a reliever. Torres homered in his only at-bat against Kopech, while Donaldson is 1-for-5 with a homer. Kiner-Falefa has the most success at 4-for-5, while Judge, Stanton, Rizzo, and LeMahieu are a combined 0-for-12.
Yankees Continue to Bash
The Yankees have the best record in baseball, and they are 11-1 in their last 12 home games. New York enters Sunday’s doubleheader with a 21-7 record against right-handed pitching, and they are 15-4 at Yankee Stadium. In five games against the White Sox this season, they have scored 39 runs.
The Yankees had one big inning on Saturday with a five-run second against lefty Dallas Keuchel. DJ LeMahieu launched his second career grand slam after Isiah Kiner-Falafa singled home Donaldson. Giancarlo Stanton had three singles in the win, while Anthony Rizzo and Donaldson added RBI.
With that performance, Stanton leads the team with a .309 average, while Aaron Judge is batting .307. Stanton leads the team with 35 RBI to go with 11 homers, while Judge has 14 homers and 30 RBI. Rizzo has ten homers and 25 RBI, while Gleyber Torres has driven in 19.
Severino didn’t pitch against the White Sox last week, and he beat Baltimore on Monday, allowing one run and one hit over six innings. The righty has allowed three runs or less in six of seven starts this season, and he has gone at least five innings on five occasions. Severino hasn’t faced Chicago since 2018, and he’s 1-2 against the Southsiders since 2015.
Abreu is 6-for-14 against Severino with four RBI in his career. Moncada and Garcia are both 1-for-3, while Anderson is 1-for-9. Garcia and Anderson are the only two players on the White Sox roster with homers against Severino, but Vaughn, Robert, Harrison, Sheets, and Pollock have never faced the righty.
Betting Analysis
- Chicago White Sox +1.5 (-130) Moneyline +155
- New York Yankees -1.5 (+110) Moneyline -180
- Total Runs: 9 Over -105, Under -115
Given the starting pitching matchup, the under is a solid lean in this game, especially given that it is game two of the day. Both teams will be starting right-handers in both games, so the managers will have to juggle the lineups. It is highly likely that the lesser lineups play in game two, but keep an eye on the starting lineups and how many innings are needed from the bullpens in game one.
Betting Pick: Under 9 Runs (-115)
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