The Chicago White Sox have taken back first place in the AL Central, thanks to a recent five-game winning streak. Can they complete a sweep of the Texas Rangers in Arlington Sunday? And who do we like for our free MLB pick for Sunday's series finale?
Setting the Scene
Chicago won Friday's series opener 9-5, then took Saturday's
game 5-2 behind a quality start from Philip Humber. The White Sox won as +125
underdogs on the MLB betting line Friday and as +180 dogs Saturday.
So the Sox, at 55-45,
have re-taken the lead in the AL Central, and now sit 2.5 games up on
second-place Detroit.
Texas, on the other hand, is just 8-12 this month. So at
58-41, the Rangers lead in the AL West is down to 3.5 games over second-place
and surging Oakland.
Sunday's Pitching
Matchup
In an attempt to avoid the sweep Texas will send Scott
Feldman (4-6, 5.37) to the mound Sunday (7 pm Eastern), while Chicago will go
with Gavin Floyd (8-8, 4.46).
Feldman had been struggling, but he's coming off his best
outing of the year, Monday against Boston, in which he held the Red Sox to one run
on seven hits through seven innings, walking none and striking out five. That
was a welcome change from his previous two starts, in which he gave up eight ER
over 11 innings.
On the season Feldman is just two-for-11 on quality starts,
and he's allowed 71 hits, including nine homers, in 62 innings.
In his only start this year against the White Sox earlier this
month Feldman gave up four ER on six hits through six innings.
On the other side of this matchup Floyd is 9-for-18 on
quality starts this year, and the Sox are 9-9 in games he's started. In his
most recent start Floyd held the Twins to two ER on six hits through six
innings, although he did walk six guys. And over his last five starts he's
allowed just six ER over 32 1/3 innings.
For the season Floyd has given up 107 hits, including 17
homers, in 109 innings.
Floyd's first start this season came against Texas, in which
he got nipped for four ER on five hits, including three dings, in 5 2/3
innings.
Sunday's Betting Odds
and Trends
As of Sunday morning the best MLB odds we could find on the
Rangers for Sunday night's game was the -142 offered at Matchbook, while the
White Sox could be played at +139 at 5Dimes.
Texas can also be had at upwards of +135 giving the run and
a half on the run line at several baseball betting outlets.
And while most of the top online baseball betting books are listing the total on Sunday's game
at 10, some have it at 10.5.
Early betting on Sunday's game has seen about 55 percent of
play on the side come down on the Rangers, and about 55 percent of action on
the total has come in on the 'over.'
So far this season Chicago has taken six of eight games from
Texas.
Free MLB Pick for
Sunday
The White Sox have found a little renewed life this week,
while the Rangers have been treading water for about a month. Feldman was solid
his last time out, but he's been very hittable this season, while Floyd has
actually been pretty good as of late. When it comes to placing our MLB picks tonight, we don't like going against a home team
trying to avoid a sweep, but for today we'll go that way, and take Chicago with
the underdog price.
MLB Picks: Take the White Sox