White Sox vs Mariners Betting Preview: Kopech Tries to Right Ship
Sox Must Regroup After Late Night Loss to DodgersÂ
Sometimes the MLB schedule isn’t a friend, because after the White Sox (30-40) blew a 4-0 lead to the Los Angeles Dodgers, it would be nice if they could get a day to reset. Instead, they’re on a plane to Seattle to start a series against the Mariners (33-34) who are 8.5 games in back of the Texas Rangers in the American League West. We start our White Sox vs Mariners preview with a look at the Chicago White Sox.
White Sox vs Mariners
Day/Time:
Location: T-Mobile Park
Kopech Tries to Right Ship in Seattle
Watching the ball sail over the fence for a grand slam by the Dodgers’ Chris Taylor to erase a 4-0 Sox lead, you couldn’t help but think that Chicago wasn’t going to score against the Los Angeles bullpen, despite MLB stats that shows the Dodgers pen are among the worst in baseball (4.79 eras, 27th). That feeling held true with LA pushing across a run in the 11th inning to steal a 5-4 win.
Chicago simply doesn’t have enough consistency throughout their line-up to drive home a runner from second base with no one out in extra innings. Not one-hitter in the Chicago lineup is hitting over .275. Yasmani Grandal is the closest at .271, but with Chicago’s core failing to get on base in front of Grandal, the Cuban catcher has only 18 RBI in 56 games. 2-time, all-star, Tim Anderson doesn’t have a homer in 48 games after averaging 19 per year over his first eight seasons.
With all that bad news there is one reason why the Sox have an advantage in game one and that is because of a favorable pitching match-up. Michael Kopech (3-5, 4.03) get the start after allowing less than two earned runs in four of his last five starts. Of those four examples, the righty allowed earned runs three times. That’s where the ChiSox have the advantage tonight. Let’s continue our White Sox vs Mariners betting preview by putting our spotlight on Seattle.
Not Like The Mariners Are Much Better
We detailed some of the reasons why the White Sox are among the worst offensive teams in baseball, which should make for some ho-hum baseball when they face baseball’s 27th-ranked offense. The Mariners are hitting just .229 or seven points worse than Chicago. JP Crawford and Julio Rodriquez are the first two hitters in the Mariners lineup but are hitting just .244 and .237 respectively. We think at this point in the season, the Mariners were hoping for more than 12 homers from Rodriguez.
Seattle sends Bryan Woo (0-1, 10.80 eras) to the hill to make his third start of his MLB career. In 6.2 innings, the former Cal-Poly alum has allowed eight earned runs. We conclude our White Sox vs Mariners preview with our official selection for tonight’s game.
White Sox Have Bounced Back After Losses
You really have to dig down to find something positive about the White Sox, but we think they’ll bounce back after a tough loss to the Dodgers. Over their last 13 games following a loss, Chicago has won nine times. That’s the same record they own against teams that are under .500. We think Chicago, who has beaten Seattle in five of their last seven meetings, owns the pitching advantage with Kopech. Seattle opened as a -130 favorite, a number that is a fair opener.
Our focus is on the moneyline with Chicago even though we’re being asked to give up -189 to get the extra 1.5 That’s okay with us because the bankroll can handle a loss, so take the Sox but get the 1.5 as our official selection. That does it for our White Sox vs Mariners preview, we wish you all the best this weekend.
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