The Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox have already squared off three times this season. Two of those encounters were won by the Red Sox, who’ll be looking to continue their dominance in tonight’s series opener at Fenway Park. Will they get the better of Chicago again, or will the White Sox hand them a taste of their own medicine? Read on below for an in-depth look at this American League matchup.
For more baseball, click here to view our breakdown of the matchup between the San Francisco Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates.
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Chicago White Sox vs. Boston Red Sox Betting Preview
Where: Fenway Park, Boston
When: Thursday, June 20, 2016, 7:10 PM ET
Line: Chicago White Sox (+170) vs. Boston Red Sox (-200); total: 10.0 – view all MLB lines
TV Broadcast: NESN, WPWR
Betting on the Chicago White Sox (33-36)
Speaking of which, toeing the rubber for the White Sox will be Miguel Gonzalez (1-2, 4.74 ERA). He’s pitched magnificently this month, but his latest appearance on the mound last Tuesday against the Tigers was an agonizing one. The right-handed Mexican surrendered eight hits, seven earned runs and four free passes in 3 1/3 innings. Chicago obviously lost that one, 11-8.
Fortunately though, the White Sox, who are priced at +425 to win the AL Central division, can expect a bounce-back performance from Gonzalez. He’s coped relatively well against the Red Sox, holding a 6-1 record along with a 3.27 ERA, a 1.37 WHIP and a .268 opponents’ batting average in 12 career games (10 starts).
On offense, meanwhile, Chicago desperately needs Melky Cabrera and Adam Eaton to light up the plate for them. Both have been the team’s most consistent batters this season, hitting .286 and .283, respectively.
Eaton, in particular, should be in line for another productive night. He marches into this game riding a six-game hitting streak. In that stretch, the veteran right fielder has gone 13-of-26 with two doubles, two triples and thee runs batted in. He also boasts a career triple-slash line of .306/.383/.431 versus Boston.
The Southsiders are 2-8 SU in their past 10 road games.
Betting on the Boston Red Sox (39-29)
Over on the host team’s side, the Boston Red Sox are putting their trust on Steven Wright (8-4, 2.22 ERA), who’s been thriving as of late.
Wright brings with him a five-game winning streak into this evening’s series opener versus the Chicago White Sox. In that run, the 31-year-old righty has yielded just three runs or fewer in his starts and has punched out a total of 27 batters. He also carries a 1-1 win-loss record along with a quality ERA of 2.77 across two career starts versus Chicago.
No matter how dominant Wright’s been pitching lately though, the Red Sox, who are the top favorites (+150) to win the AL East crown, need to receive some timely contributions at the plate. That said, expect either Xander Bogaerts or David Ortiz to lead the charge in doing so.
Bogaerts owns a team-high .352 batting averaging and has gone 4-of-11 with one homer in the last three outings. Ortiz, on the other hand, is hoping to extend his current hitting streak to seven games later.
Boston is 7-3 SU in its past 10 games with Wright starting.
Writer’s Prediction
Boston (-200) wins it, 7-2.
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