Jeff Samardzija (10-13, 5.04 ERA) and Johnny Cueto (10-12, 3.45 ERA) take the hill in the first of a three-game series between the Chicago White Sox (73-83) and the Kansas City Royals (90-66) at U.S. Cellular Field. Action begins at 8:10 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Sep. 29 and can be seen on WPWR and FSKC.
Samardzija pitched 9.0 innings in his last outing, surrendering zero runs and striking out six in a 2-0 win over the Tigers. Jose Abreu (.290, 87 Rs, 29 HRs, 97 RBIs) continued his strong play Sunday, going 2 for 4. Cueto went 7.0 innings, surrendering three runs, striking out five and walking two in a 10-4 win over the Mariners in his most recent start. Lorenzo Cain (.308, 99 Rs, 16 HRs, 71 RBIs, 28 SBs) went 1 for 4 yesterday.
Kansas City takes on Chicago as a -123 favorite. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is sitting at seven runs. The White Sox have an overall money line of -1,290 and a record as the underdog of 39-49. Chicago has had a discouraging season against division opponents, earning records of 16-21 and 29-41 as the underdog and SU respectively. The White Sox have seen a decline in scoring as of late, averaging 2.6 runs during the last 10 games compared to their season average of 3.9 runs per game.
Over in the other dugout, Kansas City is coming in with an overall money line of +1,639 and an impressive record of 55-36 as the favorite. They have been playing solid baseball as favorite with a 24-20 record against teams in their division, and a 39-31 record SU. The Royals are tough outs for opponents, ranking third in the AL with 9.3 hits per game. The Royals are an excellent base stealing team with 100 stolen bases, ranking fifth in the MLB. Kansas City’s pitching staff is one of the top in the AL, with a 3.82 ERA. When it comes to preventing batters from getting hits, the Royals are fifth in the AL on the road with an average of 8.6 hits allowed per away game.
The Royals lead the season series, 10-6. The White Sox have a 54-66 record against right-handed starting pitchers on the year, which is what they’ll be facing when Cueto takes the mound. Samardzija (RHP) will be on the hill against the Royals, who have a 62-39 record against right-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – KC, O/U – Under
Notes
The Royals lost their last game by a one-run margin. In games decided by one run, the White Sox are 27-30. The Royals are 23-17 in close games this season.
When leading after 7 innings, Kansas City is 37-23, while Chicago is 33-33.
Having scored zero runs in their last game, the Royals are going to have to up their game if they want to win this matchup. The White Sox have a 9-0 record in games where opponents scored that many runs.
When they outhit their opponents, the White Sox are 57-14. The Royals have a 71-8 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 27th in runs, Chicago has earned 605 this season. Kansas City ranks sixth with 697 runs.
Chicago and Kansas City both rank near the bottom of the league in walks. Chicago sits at 26th with 388 this season and Kansas City ranks 29th with 361.
The White Sox are 46-43 in games where they hit one or more home runs. The Royals are 62-30 when they hit at least one homer.
