The Chicago White Sox try to right their ship when they face the host Oakland Athletics in the first of a key three-game series on Tuesday night. The first pitch of the series opener is scheduled for 9:40 p.m. ET at Oakland Coliseum in Oakland.
The White Sox dropped two out of three to the Kansas City Royals over the weekend, including a 6-0 setback on Sunday. Chicago is 79-58 and in first place in the American League Central, leading the second-place Cleveland Indians by 10 games.
Oakland has lost three in a row, getting swept in a weekend series by the Toronto Blue Jays. The Athletics are 74-63 and in third place in the AL West, a half-game behind the second-place Seattle Mariners and six games behind the first-place Houston Astros. Oakland is 3½ games off the pace for the second Wild Card spot in the American League, currently held by the Boston Red Sox. The Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays are wedged between the two.
If you are betting online on this game, the MLB lines have the Athletics with a moneyline of -127, while the White Sox are listed at -117, with the over/under for the contest set at nine runs.
Back to Start
How bad are the White Sox rotation injuries right now? Chicago will have 26-year-old right-hander Jimmy Lambert on the mound for Tuesday’s opener. Lambert will be making his third start and fourth appearance, coming in with an 0-1 record and 9.00 ERA over eight innings of work.
Lambert lasted three innings in his last start, on Tuesday against Cleveland, allowing one run on two hits, including a home run. It was his first appearance with Chicago since June 27, when he appeared in relief against Seattle and allowed four runs in 1.1 innings.
With an inexperienced starting pitcher, the White Sox could use the offense to do better than it did on Sunday, when it was shut out for the second time in seven games. Of course, in that seven-game span, Chicago has also scored 13 runs in a game and 10 in another, so you never really know what you’ll get.
First baseman Jose Abreu went 3-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI in Saturday’s win over Kansas City but followed that up with an 0-for-4 day at the plate on Sunday. He was just 2-for-16 in the previous series against the Athletics, with one home run and three RBIs.
Must Be Better
As they fight for a playoff spot, the Athletics have gone cold, losing 14 of their last 20 heading into Tuesday’s series opener. Despite the cold stretch, Oakland manager Bob Melvin is still optimistic about his team’s chances.
“I think the best part of our season is yet to come,” Melvin said after Sunday’s loss. “I think we’re going to get home, and we’re going to play our best stretch of baseball.”
Oakland was also shut out on Sunday after scoring 18 runs in the first two games of the series. The Athletics need to be better than they were in the first series against the White Sox this season, when they batted .190 as a team and averaged 2.2 runs in the four-game set.
Third baseman Matt Chapman had two home runs in 13 at-bats against the White Sox. He had a double and three RBIs in Friday’s loss to Toronto and a home run in Saturday’s setback.
Right-hander James Kaprielian will get the start for the series opener. Kaprielian is 7-4 with a 3.87 ERA, winning his last two decisions.
Kaprielian hasn’t had his best stuff in his last two starts, though, allowing six runs on six hits, including three home runs, in five innings against the Yankees on Aug. 26. He followed that up with a four-inning stint against Detroit on Wednesday in which he allowed four runs on four hits, including two home runs.
Series Outlook
The White Sox won three of four when the two teams matched up in Chicago in mid-August. Oakland is 37-31 at home while the White Sox are just 33-34 as the road team.
Dallas Keuchel (8-8, 5.22 ERA) is set to get the start in Wednesday’s game for the White Sox, followed by Reynaldo Lopez (3-1, 2.08) in Thursday’s contest. The Athletics will counter with Frankie Montas (11-9, 3.68) in the second game of the series and Sean Manaea (8-9, 3.91) in the series finale.
The MLB series prices for this three-game set have the White Sox at -150, while the Athletics are listed at -120.
Athletics Take Opener
The Athletics are in desperate need of a win and they’ll be facing a very inexperienced starter in Lambert. Kaprielian should be better in this one, pitching in front of the home crowd, allowing Oakland to pick up the victory.
When doing your MLB picks, take Oakland to win at home.
