AL Central rivals meet up once again in the July 5th White Sox at Twins matchup. Minnesota is hoping things go a bit better this time around, after losing a three game series in the Windy City last week while giving up 28 runs. The Sox are -110 favorites on the road on Monday night.
Chicago does come in on a 2-game losing streak, but the Twins have dropped five of their last six. The Twins (+100) also lost two of three when the Sox visited Target Field back in May. Overall Chicago is just 6-13 in their last 19 trips to the Twin Cities, but this line seems way to low for the Sox.
Rough Weekend for Chicago
The White Sox did have a five game win streak going, but hit a bit of a speedbump dropping two of three in Detroit over the weekend. The Sox are now 2-7 in their last 9 road games, making them a bit of a risky play on Monday night.
Chicago did have the bats going last week vs. Minnesota pitching though, tallying 7-6, 13-3, and 8-5 wins. All three of those games soared ‘over’ the total, which is jacked up to 10 in the July 5th White Sox at Twins contest. Monday’s pitching matchup is a rematch of last week’s 13-3 Chicago win in which they belted 3 HRs in 3.1 IP against Minnesota starter Bailey Ober 0-1, 5.84 ERA. The Sox have 4 HR in just 25 team AB vs. Ober.
Dylan Cease (7-3, 3.75 ERA) picked up the win last week vs. the Twins after giving up just 3 hits over 6.0 IP. Cease has a win in four of his last five starts, but has a 6.08 ERA in 8 road starts this season.
Twins Back Home After Long Road Trip
Minnesota was finally able to snap their 5-game losing streak with a 6-2 win over the Royals on Sunday as -135 favorites. The Twins did take a couple from Cleveland in their last two home games, but are just 17-23 at Target Field on the year. The Twins are also just 8-21 in their last 29 as an underdog.
The Twins were able to get a couple HRs off of Cease last week with Josh Donaldson and Gilberto Celestino doing the damage. Minnesota has also tallied 7+ runs in four of their last five home games. With Cease having some struggles on the road overall this season, Monday could be a nice offensive night for the Twins. Nelson Cruz (6-11, .545) and Jorge Polanco (4-9, .444) have had their shares of success vs. Cease as well.
The big question heading into the series opener is how Ober will respond after getting rocked by Chicago last time out. The rookie could be facing some real confidence issues heading into his 7th professional start, as he has now allowed 9ER in his last 7.2 IP.
Free July 5th White Sox at Twins Pick
Chicago has definitely been the better team this season and has built up a 6 game lead over Cleveland in the AL Central. This line is begging a play on the Sox, and 68% of the public is on Chicago. Make it a fade play though, as Chicago has dropped their last two and have their share of struggles on the road as of late.
Twins 6 – White Sox 3
Free Pick: Twins +100
