The Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Guardians, AL Central rivals, have played two series this season so far, but on Monday the Tribe visits the South Side of Chicago for the first time in 2019 to open a quick two-game set. Cleveland is favored on the latest MLB odds.
Indians vs White Sox MLB Spread & Expert Pick
- When: Monday, 8:10 PM ET
- Where: Guaranteed Rate Field
- Probable pitchers (away/home): Shane Bieber/Reynaldo Lopez
- TV: MLB Extra Innings
- Live Stream: MLB.tv
- Radio: WGN 720 AM
- MLB Spread: Cleveland Indians -8.5 (Total 8.5)
Why Bet on Cleveland?
Cleveland is 3-3 against the White Sox this year, splitting a 2-game series (April 1-3) and a 4-games series (May 6-9) at Progressive Field.
The Indians avoided a series sweep in Oakland on Sunday with a 5-3 win. Roberto Perez hit a three-run home run to lead the way. The score was tied 2-2 when Perez stepped to the plate with two on and two outs in the sixth inning. He attacked the first pitch he saw from A’s reliever Ryan Buchter, banging it over the left-center field boards for a three-run blast. The homer was the fourth of the year for Perez.
Brad Hand pitched a scoreless ninth inning to earn his 11th save of the season. Protecting a two-run lead, Hand had to deal with the bottom half of the Athletics lineup. He retired Chad Pinder, Robbie Grossman, and Ramon Laureano in order to close out the win. In 17 2/3 innings this year, the 29-year-old has a stellar 1.53 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and 25/5 K/BB ratio while converting 11 of 11 save chances.
Tribe relievers own a 3.22 ERA, the 3rd-best mark in the Majors behind Houston (2.91) and Tampa Bay (3.21). Cleveland relievers rank 2nd in the Majors in fewest runs (46), earned runs (43) and walks (41) allowed, T3rd in fewest hits allowed (106) and T5th in fewest home runs allowed (14).
It’s Shane Bieber (2-1, 3.32) on the bump here. Bieber gave up three runs on eight hits and one walk over 6.1 innings during last Wednesday’s 5-3 win over the White Sox. He struck out six but did not factor in the decision. Bieber entered the seventh inning with a 3-1 lead but was unable to maintain it as the White Sox tied the game 3-3 via three singles and a sacrifice bunt. The 23-year-old has now delivered a quality start in six of his last seven outings.
Bieber has now walked two batters-or-fewer in 23 of his 26 career starts, including 5 of 7 this year. He will be making his 4th career start against the White Sox. Bieber is 1 0 with a 1.45 ERA (3ER/18.2IP) all-time vs. Chicago. He holds a 1-0 record with a 0.00 ERA (0ER/12.2IP) all-time at Guaranteed Rate Field. Bieber is the only active pitcher with at least two starts at Guaranteed Rate Field to have not allowed an earned run. Bieber is 2-0 with a 2.14 ERA (5ER/12.0IP), eight walks and 22 strikeouts in four road appearances (three starts) this year. His ERA and 0.952 WHIP are both 5th-best marks in the AL on the road (min. 3 starts).
Team Stats
Offense- Runs: 3.56
- Hits: 7.15
- Walks: 3.56
- Strike Outs: 9.31
Defense
- Runs: 3.79
- Hits: 7.49
- Walks: 3.10
- Strike Outs: 9.49
Why Bet on Chicago?
The Sox are hitting .251/.304/.387 with five homers, own a 3.14 ERA (17 ER/48.2 IP) with five quality starts, and have outscored the Indians a by a 25-19 margin this year. Chicago is 11-19 vs. Cleveland at home since 2016.
The Sox enter on a two-game winning streak, taking the final two over the weekend in Toronto. It was 5-1 on Sunday. Tim Anderson went 3-for-4 with a three-run home run. Anderson came through with the critical blow of the game of Aaron Sanchez with one out in the fourth inning. That bumped the White Sox’s lead from 2-1 to 5-1. Anderson is having a great season, with a slash line of .331/.362/.535 with eight home runs, 24 RBI, 25 runs scored and 12 stolen bases over the course of 142 at-bats. He has homered twice in his last three games.
Anderson is tied for first in MLB with a 100.0 percent success rate and ranks second with 12 stolen bases. Chicago ranks third in MLB with 30 steals, and fourth with an 81.1 (30-37) stolen-base rate. The Sox are on pace for 129 steals, which would be their most since 2010 (160). The White Sox ranked seventh in MLB with 98 steals in 2018.
Yonder Alonso went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in Sunday’s win. Alonso connected for a two-run home run off Sanchez with one out in the fourth inning. The dinger was his sixth of the campaign and bumped his RBI total up to 18 for the season. He’s hitting just .178/.284/.349 in 129 at-bats.
Outfielder Nicky Delmonico was scratched from the White Sox’s lineup Sunday due to left shoulder soreness. He’s considered day-to-day. The White Sox rank among the MLB leaders in batting average (1st), on-base percentage (2nd), OPS (2nd, .797), runs scored (T2nd) and slugging percentage (5th).
Chicago’s Reynaldo Lopez (2-4, 6.38) gave up three runs on nine hits and one walk across six innings during last Wednesday’s 5-3 loss to the Indians. He struck out two and did not factor in the decision. Lopez allowed all three runs to score during the fourth inning with four hits and a hit by a pitch, but was otherwise able to hold the Indians in check.
Team Stats
Offense- Runs: 4.67
- Hits: 8.69
- Walks: 2.95
- Strike Outs: 9.79
Defense
- Runs: 5.31
- Hits: 8.97
- Walks: 4.15
- Strike Outs: 8.56
Indians vs White Sox MLB Betting Trends
- Indians are 13-6 SU in their last 19 games against Chi White Sox
- The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Cleveland’s last 6 games
- White Sox are 4-2 SU in their last 6 games against an opponent in the American League Central division
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of Chi White Sox’s last 5 games at home
- Indians are 59-52 against the money line after a win over the last 2 seasons
- White Sox are 53-62 against the money line in night games over the last 2 seasons
- Bieber is 1-0 when starting against CHI WHITE SOX with an ERA of 1.42 and a WHIP of 0.947
- Lopez is 0-3 when starting against CLEVELAND with an ERA of 7.11 and a WHIP of 1.947
Expert Final Score Prediction for Indians vs White Sox
Cleveland Indians 5 – Chicago White Sox 4
