Detroit Tigers vs. Chicago White Sox Preview
Where: Guaranteed Rate Field – Chicago, Illinois
When: Monday, April 3, 2017, 4:10 PM ET
Line: Detroit Tigers (-121) vs. Chicago White Sox (+111) ; total: 7.5 – view all MLB lines
Writer’s Pick: Detroit Tigers (-121)
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Betting on the Detroit Tigers
After three straight down years, Justin Verlander finally looked like his old dominant self in 2016. He went 16-9 with a 3.04 ERA, and finished a close second to Rick Porcello in the AL Cy Young voting. Verlander finished last season very strongly, as he had a 1.93 ERA in September.
The Tigers ace went against the White Sox three times last season, and all three times the Tigers won. He went 1-0 with a 2.57 ERA, and had 28 strikeouts in 21 innings. Verlander beating the White Sox is nothing new, though. The Tigers are 15-5 in his last 20 starts against them.
The Detroit lineup underwent hardly any changes during the offseason. Perhaps their most notable change was in center field, as they traded away Cameron Maybin. Right fielder J.D. Martinez is out at the moment with a foot injury, but the Tigers lineup is still loaded with a lot of pop. Miguel Cabrera, Justin Upton, Ian Kinsler, and Victor Martinez all smacked 27 or more homers last season.
Betting on the Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox have no intention of winning too many games this season. The Sox pressed the reset button on their franchise by trading away ace Chris Sale and outfielder Adam Eaton in the offseason. The likes of Jose Quintana, David Robertson, Todd Frazier, and Jose Abreu are all on the trading block during the season as well.
In the meantime, Quintana will make the start for the Sox on Opening Day. The lefty had another solid season in 2016, as he had his fourth-straight season with at least 32 starts and 200 innings pitched. He went 13-12 with a 3.20 ERA last season. Quintana faced the Tigers four times, and was a mixed bag. He went 1-1 with a 4.26 ERA, and gave up a .283 average to the Tiger bats.
The White Sox starter hasn’t had the greatest track record against the Tigers over the years. Chicago is 9-8 in the 17 games he’s started against Detroit. However, they did win in his last three starts against the Tigers last season.
The lineup to back Quintana up still features the big bats of Abreu and Frazier, who knocked in 65 homers between them last season. Abreu has four homers in 29 at-bats against Verlander, with a .379 batting average. However, there are too many holes in this lineup to trouble the Tigers ace.
Writer’s Prediction
Verlander tops the Sox again as the Tigers (-121) win, 4-2.
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