Chicago White Sox vs Cleveland Indians MLB Betting Odds and Prediction

The Chicago White Sox travel to Progressive Field to visit the Cleveland Indians in a three-game series that begins on Monday, July 27, 2020.

The White Sox made several acquisitions during the offseason. Chicago signed slugger Edwin Encarnacion and catcher Yasmani Grandal were signed to bolster their firepower. The White Sox lost their opening series to the Minnesota Twins after being wiped out in Game 3 of that series. The Indians meanwhile took care of business and won their finale against the Royals to win the series 2-1.

Chicago White Sox

Chicago’s offseason acquisitions have turned them into a sleeper pick in the American League and after two games played, their offense has shown up big time. The White Sox have scored a total of 15 runs in their first two contests. However, the White Sox got pummelled in their series finale against the Twins, losing 2-14 in an absolute blowout.

Despite losing the opening series, Yoan Moncada continues to improve for Chicago as he entered Sunday with a .444 batting average with one homer and four RBIs in the first two games of the season.

Dylan Cease will take the mound for the White Sox on Monday. The 24-year old right-hander started in a total of 14 games last season and he went 4-7 with an ERA of 5.79, a WHIP of 1.55, and a total of 81 strikeouts. He made a name for himself in the Minors as a strikeout pitcher and his 9.99 strikeouts per nine innings average justified that tag. In his only start against the Indians in 2019, Crease allowed four earned runs in 6 ⅔ innings of work with 11 strikeouts.

Moncada leads the team with a batting average of .444 and an OBP of .500. Leury Garcia leads the White Sox with a total of four RBIs and two home runs. Edwin Encarnacion and Luis Robert each have two RBIs and one homer while Moncada’s four hits have produced four RBIs for the White Sox.

Cleveland Indians

The Cleveland Indians bounced back from a heart-breaking 2-3 extra-inning loss in Game 2 of their opening series against the Kansas City Royals. The Tribe bucked Carlos Carrasco’s first start since being stricken with Leukemia and the 33-year old Venezuelan completed his incredible comeback story by striking out 10 in six-plus innings as the Indians won the game 9-2, and taking the series 2-1.

The Tribe will look to second-year pitcher Aaron Civale to open their series against the White Sox. The 25-year old right-hander started in a total of 10 games last season and posted a record of 3-4 with an ERA of 2.34 and a WHIP of 1.04. Civale pitched in a total of 57.2 innings and allowed a total of 18 runs on 44 hits with 4 home runs, 16 walks, and 46 strikeouts. Civale was 1-1 in two starts against the White Sox in 2019, with an ERA of 5.40. The White Sox have a batting average of .304 in 28 plate appearances against Civale.

Jose Ramirez leads the Indians with a batting average of .417 and an OBP of .500 on the young season. Ramirez also leads the team with two home runs and a total of five RBIs. Domingo Santana is 3 for 5 to start the year with one RBI while Carlos Hernandez has four hits, three runs, and one RBI in 12 at-bats.

Who Wins?

The White Sox are 1-2 SU to start the season. Chicago has yet to play on the road this season. They are 1-5 SU in their last six games played in July. The Indians are 2-1 SU on the season and 2-1 in three home games played this year. Cleveland is 2-6 overall in their last eight games but is 8-2 SU in their last 10 games at Progressive Field. Head to head, the White Sox are 4-2 SU in their last six games played against the Indians.

Cease showed the ability to put away hitters last season but he struggled with the long ball. His off-speed pitches looked ready for the regular season during the Summer Camp and he looks to have locked up the #4 spot in Chicago’s pitching rotation. On the other hand, Civale was good at Progressive Field last season but those numbers rarely hold from year to year. Civale allowed a total of seven runs in 8 ½ innings against the White Sox last season and that should give Chicago the confidence here. The White Sox are coming off a beating in their series finale against the Twins and this should be the perfect opportunity to bounce back and prove that they are ready to contend in the AL Central standings.

Prediction: Chicago White Sox (+116)

Other Bets to Make

Chicago is 1-2 ATS in three games played this season. The Indians are 2-1 ATS this year and 2-1 ATS in three home games played so far this season. The White Sox have outscored the Indians 27-11 in their last four head to head meetings, with Chicago winning three times by at least five runs.

Starting pitchers are the strengths of the Indians but with an untested prospect in Civale taking the mound, their hitters must lead them to victory. Chicago made solid pick-ups during the offseason and they can generate offense from a lot of sources. I don’t see a pitching duel here. This has the makings of a scoring affair and I expect the White Sox to cover the spread against the currently ineffective Cleveland bats.

Prediction: Chicago White Sox +1.5 (-155)

The total has gone over in each of Chicago’s three games played so far this season. The over is also 4-1 in the White Sox’s last five games as the underdog. The total has gone over in eight out of the last 11 games played by the Indians. Head to head, the total has gone over in five out of the last seven meetings between these two teams.

Cease and Civale aren’t the kind of pitchers who are likely to engage in a pitching duel. Cease may have the better stuff but he has a problem with his control. Civale isn’t a strikeout pitcher and he struggled to pitch against the White Sox last season. Chicago’s batters have an expected batting average of .339 and an expected slugging percentage of .491 against Civale heading to this contest. I expect a high scoring game on Monday night.

Prediction: Over 9.5

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