Yankees vs White Sox Series Odds: Contenders Collide
Intriguing Pitching Matchups Highlight Four-Game Set
Yankees, White Sox Piling Up Wins in May
The odds for the New York Yankees at Chicago White Sox series begin with the home team favored in Thursday’s opener. The real winners will be the fans of both teams as two of the hottest teams in Major League Baseball get together for a four-game series in Chicago.
The Yankees, who were viewed by many as the fourth-best team in the American League East heading into the season, have won 15 of its last 17 games and own the best record in baseball heading into this series.
The White Sox have won seven of the last eight games, with the lone loss coming in a contest they led 8-2 after eight innings.
Chicago got an unexpected day off on Wednesday when the final game of the series against Cleveland was postponed due to COVID-19 issues with the Guardians.
The White Sox rank third and the Yankees fifth in team ERA in the month of March. The pitching staffs rank third and fourth in the American League in strikeouts during the month. Each team has 21 extra-base hits during the month.
The hitters better get their swings in during the first three games of the season because Sunday’s matchup features dominating pitchers Nestor Cortes and Michael Kopech.
The New York Yankees (+750) have the third-best odds to win the World Series while the White Sox (+1200) have the sixth-best odds.
Game Information
- Team records: New York Yankees 22-8 (first in the AL East); Chicago White Sox 15-14 (second in the AL Central)
- Date: Thursday, 8:10 p.m. ET (teams also play on Friday at 8:10 p.m., Saturday at 7:10 p.m. and Sunday at 2:10 p.m.)
- Location: Guaranteed Rate Field, Chicago
Yankees vs White Sox Probable Starting Pitchers
- Thursday: Luis Gil (Yankees) vs Dylan Cease (White Sox)
- Friday: Gerrit Cole (Yankees) vs Vince Velasquez (White Sox)
- Saturday: Jordan Montgomery (Yankees) vs Dallas Keuchel (White Sox)
- Sunday: Nestor Cortes (Yankees) vs Michael Kopech (White Sox)
Power Hitting Igniting Yankees’ Hot Streak
Yankees vs Chicago White Sox series odds should be calling for plenty of runs.
There isn’t much of a secret of the offensive philosophy of the Yankees. While other teams might look to string hits together to push across runs, the Yankees have loaded up their batting order with home run hitters.
The Yankees are third in the majors with 40 home runs, with nearly half of the team’s runs coming via the long ball. Gleyber Torres and Aaron Judge each have walk-off homers in the last five games.
Perhaps the number hardest to fathom is that three of New York’s eight losses have come by shutout.
A total of 14 of New York’s homers have come from the seventh inning on, which is the most in the American League.
The Yankees have hit 35 home runs in the 22 wins and only five in the eight losses.
Judge and Anthony Rizzo have combined for 17 home runs and 40 RBIs in the 22 wins by the Yankees compared to two homers and four RBIs in the eight losses, so there is no mystery to the formula required to beat New York.
White Sox Getting Healthy on Multiple Fronts
The month of April couldn’t end quickly enough for the Chicago White Sox.
A team expected to compete for a division title and perhaps even a spot in the World Series couldn’t field the team that is the reason for all those lofty expectations.
Fifteen different players had at least 10 at-bats in the month of April as injuries forced the juggling of the lineup almost on a nightly basis. It is little surprise that the White Sox had a team batting average of .212 in the month.
While some key players are out, enough of the big hitters have returned that the White Sox are batting .253 with 21 extra-base hits in nine games in May. That will help with the Yankees vs Chicago White Sox series odds trending in favor of the host team, at least for Thursday’s opener.
When Andrew Vaughn and Eloy Jimenez return, those numbers should continue to rise. The pitching staff has a team ERA of 2.14, the third-best mark in the majors in May, so not much is needed from the bats for the White Sox to rack up the wins. A couple wins in the New York Yankees at Chicago White Sox series would be helpful for Chicago.
Who’s Hot
Nestor Cortes, Yankees P: Cortes took a no-hitter into the eighth inning in his last start. In his last two appearances, Cortes has allowed five hits and two runs with 14 strikeouts in 11.1 innings. His eight walks in those two games could be a cause for concern.
Aaron Judge, Yankees OF: Judge has three games with three RBIs during the month of May. Five of his last 10 hits have gone for extra bases.
Michael Kopech, White Sox P: Kopech allowed two hits and no runs with seven strikeouts in six innings in his last start. He hasn’t allowed an earned run in four of his last five appearances.
Luis Robert, White Sox OF: Robert is on a nine-game hitting streak. He has five multiple-hit games during that stretch, during which he is batting .405 with eight runs and six RBIs.
Who’s Not
Jose Abreu, White Sox 1B: Abreu is 1-for-14 with two strikeouts in his last three games.
Liam Hendriks, White Sox P: Hendriks allowed two hits and two runs while recording just one out in his last outing. It was his second blown save of the season.
Aaron Hicks, Yankees OF: Hicks is 0-for-15 with seven strikeouts in his last five games.
Michael King, Yankees P: After six straight scoreless outings, King allowed four hits and two runs in 2.1 innings in his last two outings.
Injury Update
Outfielder Tim Locastro (back) is out as is pitcher Domingo German (shoulder). Outfielder Ryan LaMarre is day-to-day for the Yankees.
For the White Sox, first baseman-designated hitter Andrew Vaughn and outfielder Eloy Jimenez are on the 10-day injured list. Outfielders Leury Garcia and pitcher Reynaldo Lopez are listed as questionable heading into the series opener.
Yankees vs White Sox Betting Tips
The pitching matchups on Friday and Sunday should be enough to get people fired up about this series. The Yankees throw ace Gerrit Cole on Friday while the surprising Nestor Cortes gets the call in Sunday’s series finale.
The Friday starter for the White Sox is Vince Velasquez, who is 2-0 with an 0.84 ERA in his last two starts. Michael Kopech, scheduled to start on Sunday, leads all qualifying pitchers with an ERA of 0.93 Those who bet on MLB games should love those pitching showdowns.
Both teams are 7-2 in the month of May and will look to keep on rolling.
Jimenez and Vaughn were two of the five White Sox hitters with OPS totals over 1.000 against the Yankees in 2021, so their bats will be missed by Chicago in the series. Jose Abreu hit three homers in six games against the Yankees in 2021. For New York, Judge hit .476 with three of his 10 hits against Chicago last season going for home runs.
The Yankees have won seven of the last eight meetings with the White Sox, outscoring Chicago 52-29 in those contests.
Nine of the last 10 games between the teams had at least seven combined runs.
