Riding a six-game win streak that saw them finally get back over .500, the Chicago White Sox (14-13) return home on Monday. Waiting for them is the team right behind them in the AL Central standings, the Cleveland Guardians (14-14). The series begins at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago on Monday at 8:10 p.m. ET on MLB Network.
The Guardians plan to start RHP Zach Plesac (1-3, 4.44) against White Sox RHP Michael Kopech (0-0, 1.17). Cleveland swept the White Sox April 20-22 at home, winning the three games by a combined 19-5. Overall the teams will play 19 times this season, and Chicago won last year’s series 10-9.
Young Bats Lead Guardians
The Guardians are 7-9 on the road this season and have a +10 run differential. They are 7-3 in their last ten games. Cleveland is 9-9 against RHP this season and 5-2 against the AL Central.
Cleveland took three-of-four at home against the Toronto Blue Jays over the weekend. Sunday, they rallied for a 4-3 win as Owen Miller tied the game in the eighth, and Oscar Mercado won it with a single. Franmil Reyes homered in Saturday’s win while Miller drove in two, and Andres Gimenez had two hits.
Miller leads the Guardians with a .352 average while Gimenez is batting .347, and rookie Steven Kwan checks in at .316. Jose Ramirez is hitting .311 with seven homers and 30 RBI, while Mercado and Reyes both have three homers. Gimenez has 15 RBI, Kwan has 13, while Miller has ten doubles.
Plesac lost to the Padres on Wednesday as he allowed five runs on five hits over five innings while striking out four and allowing a home run. In two road starts this season, he has allowed six runs on ten hits over 9 ⅓ innings. He beat the White Sox at home on April 21, allowing one earned run on seven hits over a season-best 6 ⅔ innings as he struck out three.
Tim Anderson has two career home runs against Plesac but is just 2-for-21 overall. Jose Abreu is 5-for-20 with a home run, and Luis Robert is 7-for-13. Adam Engel is 4-for-10 against their right-hander, and Yasmani Grandal is 3-for-15.
White Sox Streaking
The White Sox have been crushed by injuries early in the season, with Yoan Moncada, Lance Lynn, Joe Kelly, Eloy Jimenez, A.J. Pollock, and Andrew Vaughn among those limited or out. They are on a nice run in May with sweeps of the Cubs and Red Sox on the road and a six-game win streak. The White Sox are 7-6 at home, 10-11 against RHP, and have a -13 run differential.
Chicago swept Boston this weekend, and on Sunday, they got great starting pitching from Dallas Keuchel. He kept a 3-0 lead into the sixth before the bullpen finished off the game with three scoreless innings. Abreu had a two-run double in the third following a RBI single from Leury Garcia.
Anderson leads the team with a .337 average, and Luis Robert at .273 is the only other active regular over .250. Abreu and Vaughn have 12 RBI each, while Anderson and Robert have nine, Vaughn, Robert and Anderson all have four homers, and Abreu has three.
Kopech has five starts on the season, three with five innings pitched, and two with four innings pitched. He threw four shutout innings against the Cubs on Tuesday as he allowed four hits in a no-decision while striking out five. At home this season, he has eight strikeouts and two runs allowed on four hits over ten innings of work.
None of the Guardians players have more than five career at-bats against Kopech. Ramirez is 2-for-5 while Myles Straw is 1-for-4, and Amed Rosario is 1-for-3. Kopech has never allowed a home run to any of the current Cleveland batters.
Betting Analysis
- Cleveland Guardians +1.5 run line (-140). +155 Moneyline
- Chicago White Sox -1.5 run line (+120) -180 Moneyline
- Run Totals: 7.5. Over -115. Under -105
The White Sox are finally starting to figure things out and get the right lineup combinations. Their bullpen has been fantastic as of late, and Kopech has been really good all season long, just limited innings wise. The Guardians lead the AL in average and are second in runs, but the pitching has been erratic, to say the least.
Betting Pick: White Sox Moneyline (-180)
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