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Both the Chicago White Sox and San Francisco Giants won division titles last year. Neither is leading their division so far in 2022, but it’s not out of the question they could meet in the World Series. The Sox open their set in the Bay Area on Friday with the Giants as solid favorites on the MLB odds.

How to Bet White Sox at Giants MLB Odds & TV Info

When: Friday, 10:15 PM ET
Where: Oracle Park
Probable pitchers (away/home): Lance Lynn/Alex Cobb
TV: MLB Extra Innings
Stream/gameday audio: https://www.mlb.com/live-stream-games/
Opening MLB Lines: Giants -145, White Sox +135 (total 8)

Why Bet on Chicago?

The White Sox lost 4-1 at the Angels and Shohei Ohtani on Wednesday but José Abreu went 4-for-4 with a quartet of singles. Abreu has now picked up seven hits over his last nine at-bats. The veteran slugger and former AL MVP is slashing .284/.375/.451 with nine homers and 35 RBI in 72 games this season. It was the sixth loss in eight games for the Sox (35-39).

“Nobody is panicking,” said pitcher Michael Kopech of the team’s disappointing start. “We know we are a good team and we can turn it around tomorrow if things go well. It’s frustrating yeah, but I think we know what we are capable of. We keep getting asked about how we feel about it. Look, nobody wants to lose and the guys that are on the field every night, I promise they want to win more than anybody else that’s thinking about the team. So, yeah, we are not happy that we are not winning.”

Good-looking rookie Andrew Vaughn didn’t start Wednesday but simply for rest and will be in there Friday. Vaughn is hitting .307/.360/.465 with seven homers and 33 RBI in 56 games on the season. Vaughn ranks eighth in the AL with a .357 (15-42) average with RISP.

Nine White Sox players are on the injured list currently. The biggest one is outfielder Eloy Jiménez, who has played in six games with Class AAA Charlotte since restarting his rehab assignment on 6/21, going 4-25 (.160) with two RBI and two runs scored. He underwent surgery on 4/26 to repair a torn hamstring tendon behind his right knee. Jimenez is getting close but it won’t be Friday.

It’s Lance Lynn (1-1) on the mound Friday. Lynn fell apart late in last Saturday’s loss to the Orioles, giving up six runs (five earned) on six hits over his 6 2/3 innings of work. The right-hander had eight strikeouts on the afternoon while issuing one walk He had allowed just one earned run through the first six innings but then things fell apart. Lynn got 23 swings and misses on his 109 pitches in the game, posting a CSW of 31 percent. He has a 6.19 ERA and 1.44 WHIP this year.

Lynn is 1-4 with a 3.72 ERA (15 ER/36.1 IP) over six career starts against San Francisco. He last faced the Giants on 9/2/17 at Oracle Park (ND; 8.0 scoreless IP). Lynn has gone 10-15 with a 4.07 ERA (103 ER/228.0 IP) in 40 interleague games (27 starts) lifetime.

The Sox lead the all-time series vs. the Giants, 9-4, going 4-1 at Oracle Park and 5-3 in Chicago. They won two of three games at Guaranteed Rate Field in the last meeting in 2017, with Abreu hitting for the cycle on 9/9/17.

Why Bet on San Francisco?

The White Sox and Giants have met twice previously in San Francisco: they split two games in 2014, and the White Sox swept a three-game series in 2008.

The Giants were huge favorites Wednesday but lost 3-2 at home to Detroit. Evan Longoria opened the scoring for the Giants with his solo shot off of Rony Garcia in the first inning. He also singled and drew a walk in the contest, finishing the day 2-for-3. The 36-year-old third baseman is now hitting .256/.343/.504 with eight homers and 18 RBI in 40 games on the season. He has multiple hits in four of his last six games, with three homers during that stretch.

Before the game, the team activated outfielder LaMonte Wade from the 10-day injured list. He was 1-for-5 in the loss. In the nine games that Wade has started for SF this year, the Giants are 5-4.

Wade was last season’s breakout star for the Giants as he batted .253 with 17 doubles, 18 homers and 56 RBI in 109 games. However, he injured his knee during a spring training game in March. He briefly returned in May but went back on the IL after just 32 plate appearances because the knee still didn’t feel right. Good thing in a way as on Saturday, the Giants have Wade Jr.’s first bobblehead day, with 20,000 of them scheduled to be handed out before the game against the White Sox.

The Giants get a huge boost when their home run leader finds a way to hit the ball out of the park. SF is 11-3 this year when OF Joc Pederson homers and 23-27 when he doesn’t. Overall, the Giants are 20-6 when Pederson scores one or more runs this season.

It’s Alex Cobb (3-3) on the mound Friday. Cobb gave up three runs — two earned — with four strikeouts over 4 1/3 innings in a loss against the Reds last Friday. The Reds would get on the board in the second with an RBI double by Mike Moustakas. Nick Senzel followed with a double to score Moustakas before Cobb was able to get out of the inning. Two errors in the fifth inning would bring an unearned run in for Cincinnati and end Cobb’s day at 80 pitches. The 34-year-old right-hander has had some tough luck on the field, while injuries have limited him to 46 innings. Cobb has a 5.48 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and 53 strikeouts.

Cobb has been one of the unluckiest pitcher in the majors this year. According to Statcast, the veteran had the seventh-lowest expected batting average (.207), the second-lowest expected slugging percentage (.306) and the lowest expected ERA (2.33) among pitchers who have allowed at least 100 balls in play. Cobb’s FIP (3.21), xFIP (2.69) and bloated .378 BABIP all show just how much bad luck he has had this year. He is also not allowing a ton of hard contact, with his 32.8 percent hard-hit rate ranking just outside the top 10 percent of the league.