Chris Sale (6-3, 2.74 ERA) takes the mound for the Chicago White Sox (31-39) as they go up against Phil Hughes (5-6, 4.47 ERA) and the Minnesota Twins (38-33) in the last of a three-game series at Target Field. The White Sox won the last game 6-2 and the series is currently tied 1-1. The game gets underway at 1:10 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Jun. 24 and will air on CSN-CHI.
Hughes is 4-5 with a 3.07 ERA and 1.06 WHIP against the White Sox in his career. Torii Hunter (.263, 32 Rs, 8 HRs, 38 RBIs, 1 SB) went 1 for 3 yesterday with one run. In his career against the Twins, Sale is 7-3 with a 3.29 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, and 90 strikeouts. Jose Abreu (.300, 39 Rs, 12 HRs, 40 RBIs) has been doing well offensively for the White Sox, going 4 for 5 yesterday with two runs.
Minnesota is a +130 underdog in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at seven runs. The Twins are 31-25 as the underdog and have an overall money line of +1,298. They have an SU record of 17-18 against teams in their division and a 14-15 record when they were the underdog in those games. The Twins are the best in the AL in walks allowed, giving up just 2.4 per game.
Moving on to the opposing team, the White Sox come into this game with a win percentage of .562 when playing as the favorite (18-14) and an overall money line of -1,207. Against divisional opponents, they are 13-22 SU and have played poorly as the favorite with a 9-10 record. 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 1.8 runs per game, compared to 4.2 for the duration of the season. Opposing pitchers have routinely struggled to strike out the Chicago batters, who rank fourth in the AL with 7.1 strikeouts per road game. Switching gears to Chicago’s pitching staff, they allow just 2.6 hits per road game, good for fifth in the AL.
The Twins have mostly come out on top against the White Sox in their previous 12 games this season, earning an 8-4 record. This game will feature Sale (LHP) on the mound against the Twins, who have a 9-5 home and 17-10 overall record when they take on a left-handed starter. Taking the hill against the White Sox will be the right-hander Hughes. They sport a 25-30 record against righties.
Predictions: SU Winner – MIN, O/U – Over
Notes
When leading after 7 innings, Chicago is 14-13, while Minnesota is 10-15.
The Twins are coming off of a weak pitching game where they recorded five strikeouts. The White Sox have a record of 14-8 when opponents’ pitchers have that many strikeouts or fewer.
When they are outhit, the White Sox are 6-31. The Twins have a 7-30 record when opponents outhit them.
Both falling near the bottom of the league based on total home runs this season, Minnesota ranks 24th with 56 homers and Chicago is 28th with 48.
Ranking 12th, Chicago is in the top half of the league in hits, notching 8.04 per game. Minnesota ranks in the top 10 at 10th with 8.30.
Ranking 30th, Chicago is at the bottom of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.644). Minnesota ranks near the bottom at 23rd with an OPS of .689.
The White Sox are 16-27 in games where they allow one or more home runs. The Twins are 21-24 when they allow at least one homer.
