The Chicago White Sox (22-13, 11-4 away) and the Minnesota Twins (20-16, 12-4 home) will continue with the second contest of a three-game set on Tuesday night. The Twins took game one, 8-5, on Monday after falling behind 3-0 in the first inning thanks to three fielding errors.
The first pitch for Tuesday’s game is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. EST at Target Field in Minneapolis, MN. The White Sox are -113 on the money line, according to oddsmakers.
What to Know – Chicago White Sox
After dropping back-to-back games to the St. Louis Cardinals in mid-August, the White Sox have gone 12-2 since and sit in first place on American League Central. Chicago dug themselves a hole, falling behind 4-0 through the first three innings, before out-scoring the Twins 8-1 over the final six innings of play.
Dallas Keuchel is the scheduled starting pitcher for the visitors. The left-hander has had a fantastic season so far, compiling a 5-2 record over seven starts. Keuchel is sporting a 2.70 ERA and has allowed three or less earned runs in each of his seven starts on the mound.
Offensively the White Sox lead the majors with a .270 team batting average and are third in home runs (64), fifth in runs batted in (168), and second in hits (314). Tim Anderson’s .330 batting average is fifth in the league, while Jose Abreu is tied for 4th in home runs (12) and 2nd in RBI (32).
What to Know – Minnesota Twins
Minnesota started off the season hot but have cooled considerably since the first quarter of the season. The Twins have dropped six-in-a-row, including a sweep by the Detriot Tigers over the weekend. Minnesota sits in third place in the AL Central, 2.5 games back of the White Sox.
On the mound, the Twins will counter with Michael Pineda. The right-hander will be making his first start of the season after receiving a 60 game suspension late last season for taking a banned substance. Pineda went 11-5 with a 4.01 ERA and 1.16 WHIP in 2019 before being suspended in mid-September.
Offensively the Twins continue to produce but have tailed off since early August. Minnesota sports a .239 team batting average (18th) and are 9th in the majors in home runs (48).
Helping that long ball total is veteran slugger Nelson Cruz who leads the majors with 13. Cruz leads the team in every major additional offensive category with a .311 average, 29 RBI, and 38 hits.
The Pick is In
Game 1 was back and forth with each team taking and receiving punches from the competitor. The Twins have the offensive firepower to keep pace with the White Sox, but the pitching matchup favors Chicago.
No one really knows what to expect from Pineda and what pitch count he will be on, but expect the Twins bullpen to pitch a majority of the innings in this one. We always like to ride the hot team until they cool off, so we will side with the White Sox money line in this one.
