With the best record in baseball, the New York Yankees (22-8) head to Chicago for a four-game weekend series with the White Sox (15-14). The series starts Thursday at 8:10 p.m. ET at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago, airing on MLB Network and locally in both markets.
The Yankees send RHP Luis Gil (0-0, 0.00) to the mound in his season debut against White Sox RHP Dylan Cease (3-1, 2.38). These teams will play a three-game series in New York next weekend, playing all seven games of the season series in a 10-day span.
Last year the Yankees won the season series 5-1, and they were 2-0 in Chicago with a loss in the Field of Dreams game in Iowa.
Yankees Sweep Jays, Stay Hot
The Yankees are 8-2 in their last ten games and 8–4 on the road this season. They are 15-6 against RHP and 8-1 against the AL Central.
Gleyber Torres drove in all five Yankees runs on Wednesday with a three-run homer and a two-run single. DJ LeMahieu added two hits as New York swept Toronto. Aaron Judge hit his first career walk-off homer on Tuesday, and Giancarlo Stanton also went deep in the 6-5 win,
LeMahieu leads the Yankees with a .290 average, just ahead of Judge at .288. Judge leads the Majors with ten home runs, one more than Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo. Rizzo, Judge, and Stanton all have 22 RBI on the season, while Torres has 18.
Gil made five starts this season for Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre, going 0-3 with a 9.53 ERA. Last year he was 1-1 with a 3.07 ERA in six starts while striking out 38 batters in 29 ⅓ innings. He has never faced the White Sox.
Last year he went five innings in three of his starts and struck out at least six in five starts. He allowed four home runs in 29 ⅓ innings while walking 19 and striking out 38.
White Sox Turn to Cease to Cool off Yanks
Chicago is 11-12 against RHP this season, and they are 8-7 at home. With a sweep last week in Boston, they are 5-1 against the AL East and 8-2 in their last ten games.
The White Sox went 1-1 in their series against Cleveland. They blew a six-run lead in the ninth inning on Monday, losing in extra innings. Chicago took care of the White Sox Tuesday with solid pitching and timely hitting before Wednesday’s game was postponed due to the Guardians being in COVID-19 protocols.
In Tuesday’s win, Gavin Sheets homered, Tim Anderson was 3-for-4 with a double, while Luis Robert had two hits. Anderson is batting .347 on the season and is tied for the RBI lead along with Andrew Vaughn and Jose Abreu. Vaughn is on the IL, and Chicago has struggled to replace his bat in the lineup.
Cease allowed one run on four hits over five innings at Boston last Saturday in a no-decision. He has gone at least five innings in every start this season, and he has 28 strikeouts in his last18 innings. Cease has struck out at least eight batters in five of his six starts.
Cease faced the Yankees twice last season, going 0-1 with an 8.00 ERA. He allowed eight runs on nine hits overall with 12 strikeouts and four walks. Josh Donaldson and Joey Gallo both have homers against Cease, while Rizzo is 2-for-5, Judge is 2-for-3, and Stanton is 0-for-2.
Betting Analysis
- New York Yankees +1.5 (-160) Moneyline +125
- Toronto Blue Jays -1.5 (+140) Moneyline -145
- Total Runs: 8 Over +100, Under -120
The Yankees are second in the AL in homers, fourth in runs scored, and fourth in average. While their team ERA of 2.59 is tops in the league.
Chicago has struggled in those same categories, ranking ninth in homers, 12th in runs, 10th in average, but they are fourth in ERA. The way the Yankees have played lately, you have to take them on a plus money line, even against the White Sox ace.
Betting Pick: Yankees Moneyline (+125)
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