Tommy Milone (3-1, 3.67 ERA) and the Minnesota Twins (37-32) meet John Danks (3-7, 5.16 ERA) and the Chicago White Sox (30-38) in the first of a three-game division series at Target Field. The game starts at 8:10 p.m. ET on Monday, Jun. 22 and will air on CSN-CHI, FSN-N and ESPN 2.
Milone has a 1.39 ERA and a 2-0 record in his career against the White Sox, and faces a less-than-stellar Chicago offense that’s hitting just .237 on the year. Brian Dozier (.259, 54 Rs, 13 HRs, 32 RBIs, 5 SBs) went 1 for 4 yesterday. In his pitching opportunities against the Twins, Danks is 7-14 with a 5.67 ERA, 104 strikeouts and 61 walks. Jose Abreu (.288, 36 Rs, 12 HRs, 40 RBIs) has been hitting the ball well for the White Sox, going 2 for 5 yesterday with one run.
Minnesota is a -132 favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is eight runs. The Twins are 6-7 as the favorite and have an overall money line of +1,298. They have a winless record (0-2) in games played as the favorite during their last 10 games. The Twins are the best in the AL in walks allowed, giving up just 2.3 per game.
Switching gears, the White Sox come into this game with a weak win percentage of .333 when playing as the underdog (12-24) and an overall money line of -1,207. Over the past 10 matchups, they are 2-8 SU and have a poor 0-6 record when they were an underdog to win. The White Sox will be looking to pick it up in this one after recent offensive struggles. In their 10 most recent games, Chicago’s run production has dropped to 2.2 runs per game, compared to 4.1 for the duration of the season. Opposing pitchers have routinely struggled to strike out the Chicago batters, who rank fifth in the AL with 7.2 strikeouts per road game.
The Twins have gotten the best of the White Sox in head-to-head matchups this season, going 7-3. This game will feature Danks (LHP) on the mound against the Twins, who have a 16-10 record when they take on a left-handed starter. Taking the hill against the White Sox will be the left-hander Milone. They sport a 5-8 record against southpaws.
Predictions: SU Winner – MIN, O/U – Under
Notes
The White Sox won their last game by a one-run margin. In games decided by one run, the Twins are 13-9. The White Sox are 13-12 in close games this season.
When the White Sox play into extra innings, they have a 5-2 record. The Twins are 3-2 when their games exceed nine innings.
The White Sox managed to give up five walks in their last game. They’ll have to pick it up against the Twins who are heading in with a 7-1 record against opponents who give up that many walks or more.
When they are outhit, the White Sox are 6-30. The Twins have a 7-29 record when opponents outhit them.
Both falling near the bottom of the league based on total home runs this season, Minnesota ranks 26th with 51 homers and Chicago is 28th with 48.
Ranking 14th, Chicago is in the top half of the league in hits, notching 7.94 per game. Minnesota ranks in the top 10 at 10th with 8.26.
Ranking 30th, Chicago is at the bottom of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.637). Minnesota ranks near the bottom at 24th with an OPS of .680.
The White Sox are 15-26 in games where they allow one or more home runs. The Twins are 21-24 when they allow at least one homer.
