The Windy City Series has been captured by the Chicago White Sox (-145) this year and they will go for a three-game sweep of the Chicago Cubs (+125) at Wrigley Field Sunday afternoon.
The Chicago White Sox returned to .500 for the first time since being 7-7 earlier in the season with a 1-0 victory Saturday. Offensively, the team has managed to score 17 runs offensively in the first five meetings this season with the Cubs, winning four of five.
The club is likely not wanting interleague action to end, considering its won 19 of its last 20 series against National League opponents, including nine straight on the road. The White Sox are 11-3 in their last 14 games against their city rivals.
Right-handed starter Gavin Floyd (6-7, 4.19 ERA) aims to snap a two-game losing streak and the squad has lost his last four starts overall. In his last two outings, he has received five runs of support, while giving up eight runs and 11 hits in 12 innings.
Floyd has recorded a solid 5-3 mark and 2.31 ERA in 13 career interleague starts and has gone 0-2 with a 3.60 ERA in three outings versus the Cubs. He was saddled with a 6-3 home loss against them on June 20, surrendering six runs and five hits in five frames.
Total bettors will find that the ‘under’ is 5-2 in his last seven contests as a road favorite. The White Sox have also fallen below the number in six of their last seven games against NL foes.
The Chicago Cubs are 4-10 against the American League this season and own a 102-117 all-time mark during interleague play. Frustration is starting to show and manager Mike Quade did little to hide it in getting ejected Saturday.
One facet of the club has continued to be a strength recently, as the bullpen has posted a 1.37 ERA in the last 12 games, limiting the opposition to a .199 batting average. The unit should be well-rested for today’s game due to Matt Garza going the distance in a losing effort yesterday.
Rodrigo Lopez (0-2, 5.40) hopes to provide the starting rotation with another quality start and is also searching for his first victory of the season. He will be making his sixth appearance (second start) at home this afternoon, going 0-1 with a 7.30 ERA, as opponents are hitting an incredible .404 against him.
The right-hander has had his ups and downs versus the White Sox, posting an even 2-2 mark and 8.04 ERA. He will need to do his best in keeping speedy outfielder Juan Pierre off the base paths, who is 5 for 8 with a stolen base against him.
Home plate umpire Bruce Dreckman has led hosting teams to an 11-5 record this season and the ‘over’ is 8-6-2 in those contests.
Bettors will also need to be aware of teams going over the number in seven of Dreckman’s last eight interleague games when calling balls and strikes.
Weather forecasts are suggesting game-time highs in the upper-70s and a northeasterly breeze of 5-10 mph.
Odds represented in this article are representative of 2BetDsi.com at the time of writing.
