White Sox vs Athletics Game Preview: Sox Bring Feared LineUp
Sox Holding Out Hope for Wild Card
White Sox vs Athletics Game Preview: The White Sox are hitting .259 as a team, just behind the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays at .261. The Sox are in a must-sweep situation to stay in the Wild Card race because of their inability to get timely hits. Oakland finishes up a season that was doomed from the start.
Before diving deeper into our Chicago White Sox at Oakland Athletics game one preview, let’s look at some relevant trends that will help us beat the odds tonight.
The White Sox won’t fulfill bettors who have them on a World Series in 2022 because they don’t string hits together and don’t win at home, losing 34 of 70. They’re a respectable 35-32 on the road but just 25-55 in Oakland over the years.
Game Information
- Game: Chicago White Sox (69-68) at Oakland Athletics (50-87)
- Location: Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, California
- Day/Time:
- Television: NSCA, CSch, MLBN
Andrus Returns to Oakland, White Sox in Must-Sweep Series
With Oakland 7 ½ games behind the last wild-card spot, meetings against one of the worst teams in baseball create a must-sweep situation.
Major League Baseball statistical matchups show that the White Sox should be the easy wager in this one, but we don’t have to look too far back to when the New York Yankees strolled into Oakland to give us a proper betting perspective.
Oakland split that series after New York had won the first two games of the series. That will tell you that there is no quit in Mark Kotsay’s team. Elvis Andrus will return to Oakland for the first time since being released by the Athletics on August 17th. It took the White Sox two days to grab the 14-year veteran.
Oakland Management is Not Interested in Winning
The Athletics have sunk to the bottom of most Major League statistical categories and don’t win the battle of MLB matchup stats against most teams, but it isn’t their fault.
Owner John Fisher has been cutting corners with this organization for years. It started to get worse in 2020 when they decided not to continue paying their minor league players a stipend. Then this season started with a drop in payroll and the rumors that the Athletics were headed to Las Vegas, a rumor that is still alive and well.
The Sox have lost 43 of their last 61 home games and 18-39 against teams with a winning record. Even though they will not fulfill their 2022 White Sox World Series odds aspirations; it’s difficult to have the Athletics in any match-up. So, how do we attack tonight’s matchup from a betting perspective?
Public Clearly on Sox, Under
Since opening at a consensus of -189, the public has pushed that up to -195 across the betting landscape. The one caveat that sticks with us is the MLB betting stat that shows how bad Chicago has been in Oakland over the years, losing 25 of their last 8 games on the West Coast.
White Sox starter Dylan cease had his way with Oakland in their last match-up but has never pitched in Oakland. JP Sears, who comes into this one with a respectable 5-1 mark to go with a 2.37 era, gets the nod for Oakland.
Since coming over from the New York Yankees, Sears is 2-1 with a 2.63 era. To conclude our White Sox and Athletics preview our recommendation is to take a chance with the Athletics and Sears. We’re not jumping on a plus-money bet but taking a safer route with the run-line (+1.5, -109).
