In the second of a three-game series between the Minnesota Twins (38-32) and the Chicago White Sox (38-32) at Target Field, Mike Pelfrey (5-3, 2.97 ERA) and Jeff Samardzija (4-4, 4.67 ERA) get the ball. The Twins won the last game 13-2 and Minnesota leads the series 1-0. The game gets underway at 8:10 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Jun. 23 and will air on WPWR and FSN-N.
Pelfrey is 0-3 with a 6.62 ERA against the White Sox in his career, but is up against a less-than-stellar Chicago offense that’s hitting just .238 on the year. Brian Dozier (.261, 55 Rs, 14 HRs, 35 RBIs, 6 SBs) continued his strong season yesterday, going 2 for 5 with one run, one home run, three RBIs, and one stolen base. In his pitching opportunities against the Twins, Samardzija is 2-1 with a 5.84 ERA, 21 strikeouts and four walks. Jose Abreu (.290, 37 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 favored by a slight -115 margin in its matchup against Chicago. The matchup currently has an eight-run Over/Under (O/U). When playing as the favorite, the Twins have a 6-7 record and overall money line at +1,198. They have struggled as the favorite over their last 10 games, going 0-1. The Twins will be looking to pick it up in this one after recent offensive struggles. In the last 10 games, Minnesota has only averaged 3.0 runs per game compared to the 4.1 they’ve averaged on the season. Transitioning to the pitching staff, the Twins don’t give up many walks to opposing batters, leading the AL with only 2.4 walks allowed per game.
On the other side, the White Sox have a subpar record of 12-24 when they are the underdog and are -1,107 overall with the money line. 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 2.1 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. Switching gears to Chicago’s pitching staff, they allow just 2.7 walks per road game, fifth-best in the AL.
The Twins have gotten the best of the White Sox in head-to-head matchups this season, going 8-3. The Twins will take on a right-hander (Samardzija) in this game and have a 21-22 record against right-handed starting pitchers this season. Taking the hill against the White Sox will be the right-hander Pelfrey. They sport a 25-30 record against righties.
Predictions: SU Winner – MIN, O/U – Over
Notes
In their last game, the Twins won by a margin of 11 runs. The White Sox are 0-5 in games decided by a margin of 10 runs or more. The Twins have a 4-2 record in blowouts.
Minnesota has won 42% (10-14) of its games when leading after 7 innings. However, Chicago has won 50% (13-13) of its games when taking a late lead.
The Twins are coming into this matchup after a high-scoring game where they scored a whopping 13 runs. The White Sox have a 0-3 record when opponents score that many runs or more.
When they are outhit, the White Sox are 6-31. The Twins have a 7-29 record when opponents outhit them.
Minnesota and Chicago both rank near the bottom of the league in home runs. Minnesota sits at 25th with 55 home runs this season and Chicago ranks 28th with 48.
Ranking 13th, Chicago is in the top half of the league in hits, notching 8.00 per game. Minnesota ranks in the top 10 at 10th with 8.20.
Ranking 30th, Chicago is at the bottom of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.639). Minnesota ranks near the bottom at 22nd with an OPS of .689.
When the White Sox allow at least one home run, they are 15-27. When the Twins allow one or more homers, they have a 21-24 record.
