A pair of veteran southpaws hook up on the North Side when the White Sox and Cubs open a three-game Windy City series Friday night at the Friendly Confines. The Cubs come in leading the NL Central while the White Sox ride a five-game winning streak. How are we playing this game with our free MLB pick?
MLB Betting Odds
Friday’s MLB betting odds opened this game at right around a pick ’em, and that status was holding steady in the early betting action.
White Sox vs. Cubs Set-Up
The ChiSox just swept four games at home from Detroit, winning Thursday’s series finale 9-0. Add that to a victory in the final game of a series against St. Louis last weekend, and Chicago (AL) owns a five-game winning streak.
At 15-11 overall, the White Sox sit in third place in the AL Central, two games back of first-place Minnesota. The ChiSox are also just a half-game back of Houston in the battle for the eighth and final American League playoff spot.
Meanwhile, the Cubs just took three of four games at home from the Cardinals, with a split of a doubleheader Wednesday. The Cubbies then enjoyed Thursday off.
Last weekend the Cubs dropped three of four at home to Milwaukee.
At 16-8 overall, the Cubbies lead the NL Central by four games over second-place St. Louis, and they’re only a game and a half behind the Dodgers in the battle for the best record in the National League.
Last year these teams split four games, each winning once on the others’ home field. Lester actually picked up the W in both Cubs victories.
Friday’s Starting Arms
Lefty Lester is 2/4 on quality starts this season. Last Sunday, the Brewers got him for five runs and nine hits, including a couple of homers, through six innings of a 6-5 Cubs loss. But over his three starts previous to that Lester allowed just two runs and seven hits through 17 innings.
So on the season, Lester has given up seven runs on 16 hits and four walks through 23 innings, and Chicago is 3-1 with him.
Over two starts against the White Sox last year Lester allowed six runs – four earned – and 13 hits through 12 innings. The Cubs won both those games.
Fellow southpaw Keuchel is 2/5 on quality starts this season but a few outs away from 5/5. Last Sunday, he held St. Louis to two runs and four hits through 5 2/3 innings – one out short of a QS – in a 7-2 White Sox win. And just before that, he limited Detroit to three runs through six innings, although Chicago lost that game 5-1.
On the season, Keuchel has allowed ten runs on 25 hits and six walks through 29 1/3 innings, and the White Sox are 3-2 with him.
In his only start last year against the Cubs, pitching for Atlanta, Keuchel allowed three runs and eight hits, including a couple of homers, through 5 2/3 innings of a 5-3 Braves victory.
Friday’s Batting Splits
The ChiSox are batting .291 against left-handed pitching this season, with a .366 team OBP and an ML-best .576 team slugging percentage. Those numbers help this lineup rank among the top three in the Majors in this split.
The Cubs are batting .217/.347/.362 vs. LH pitching this season.
The Bullpens
The ChiSox bullpen owns a 3.81 ERA this season and a 1.18 WHIP.
The Cubs pen owns a 5.50 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP.
MLB Betting Trends
- The White Sox are 8-3 on the road this season,
- The Cubs are 9-6 at home this season.
- The White Sox are a perfect 6-0 vs. left-handed starters this season.
- The Cubs are 5-1 against LH starters this season.
Totals Report
- Unders are 13-12 in White Sox games this season.
- Overs are 13-11 in Cubs games this season.
- Totals are split 8-8 in games played at Wrigley Field this season.
Free MLB Pick
We’ll call the pitching match-up a push, but we give the White Sox edges in the splits with the sticks and in the bullpen comparison. So we’re betting the South Siders for our free MLB pick for Friday.
