On the heels of a 14-inning game the Indians and White Sox continue their series at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago. Game time is 8:10 PM ET with the Sox installed by sportsbooks as -160 favorites with a total of 8.
Lefthander Mark Buehrle (10-5, 3.06 ERA) will go for Chicago while
Fausto Carmona (5-12, 5.12 ERA) who will be throwing them down for the Tribe.
The White Sox are 9-2 in their last 11 games and have won four straight at home
against the Indians. MLB odds makers are expecting this streak to continue, but I think the Indians have the edge in tonight's game.
The weather forecast for tonight’s game is a bit ‘iffy’. There’s a
30 percent chance of thundershowers with high humidity and temperatures in the
70’s.
Marathon Men
As historians will duly note, the White Sox beat the Indians 8-7
in a game that spanned two calendar days. It began on Tuesday night at 8:05 PM
and shortly thereafter Juan Pierre hit his 16th career home
run off Ubaldo Jimenez. Then five hours later Pierre ended it with a walk-off
single in the 14th as the clock struck at 1:05 AM.
Paul Konerko and Brent Morel each had four hits for the White Sox
who recorded a season-best 22 hits and left 16 men on base. The Indians had 10
hits, received eight walks but stranded 11.
The two teams used a combined 16
pitchers which means both managers are hoping for lengthy outings tonight from
their respective starters.
Streaking
Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen and his team have ridden an
emotional rollercoaster this season taking MLB bettors along for the ride. On July
25, the White Sox were only three games behind the Tigers but proceeded to lose
their next six games. However that streak was followed by a five-game winning
streak and now Chicago is once again three games back of the Detroit. All the
streaking hasn’t affected the bottom line much; The Sox are down -2.83 units on
the money line and -8.04 on the run line.
The White Sox have 41 games remaining in the regular season with
six of them coming against Detroit. The three contenders in the division will
be se plenty of one another in September.
After leading the American League Central for most of the year the Indians (60-58)
went through a pair of losing streaks that ultimately cost them first-place.
Cleveland had a 1-6 stretch in June followed by a 3-11 slide in July but like
the Chisox has shown its ability to rebound from adversity. When this series
wraps up on Thursday the Indians will head to Detroit for a three-game set with
the Tigers. They’ll play the White Sox eight times and the Tigers on six
occasions.
A final note on the Indians schedule; They’ll begin an 11-game
home stand on Monday night with a chance to fatten up against three of the
‘have not’s’ in the AL. They’ll play four against the Mariners, three against
the Royals and then finish up with four against the A’s.
A.J. on the D.L.
The White Sox (61-60) will be without catcher A.J.
Pierzynski who went on the disabled list for the first time in his career
after sustaining a broken left wrist on Friday night.
The Indians are minus rookie Jason Kipnis who has missed the last
two games with a strained muscle in his side. Kipnis is hitting .279 with six
home runs since making his big league debut on July 22.
Closing numbers
Cleveland is 3-13 in the last 16 series meetings and has dropped
four straight at U.S. Cellular Field. Carmona has won six of his last nine road
starts and the Indians are 8-2 in his last 10 appearances vs. Chicago.
Key betting note; The White Sox are 18-42 on the run line at home
this season while the Indians are 39-21 on the road.
Harvey’s Take: Those run line numbers are pretty appealing and that’s where my
money will be tonight. Despite Carmona’s season struggles he’s pitched well
against the White Sox. I’ll make my plan on the RL and side with the Indians.
Good luck!