White Sox vs Tigers MLB Lines & Pick for Thursday Evening

Because MLB changed schedules this year and going forward where every team in the majors will play every other club at least one series, that means games inside the division have been trimmed down. That’s partly why the AL Central rival White Sox and Tigers will meet for the first time this season on Thursday from Motown.

White Sox vs. Tigers | 2023 MLB Expert Analysis

How to Bet Chicago at Detroit MLB Odds & TV Info

When: Thursday, 6:40 PM ET
Where: Comerica Park
Probable pitchers (away/home): Lucas Giolito/Alex Faedo
TV: MLB Extra Innings
Stream/gameday audio: https://www.mlb.com/live-stream-games
Opening MLB Lines: White Sox -140, Tigers +130 (total 8.5)

Why Bet on Chicago?

Will star Luis Robert be in the lineup for Chicago? He missed Wednesday’s win in Cleveland with a minor injury and is being called day-to-day. Luis Robert Jr. is hitting .360/.429/.773 (27-75) with seven doubles, eight homers, 16 RBI, 20 runs scored, six walks and a 1.202 OPS in May.

He ranks among AL May leaders in runs scored (1st), total bases (1st, 58), extra-base hits (1st, 15), home runs (T1st), slugging percentage (2nd), OPS (2nd), hits (T4th), on-base percentage (T5th), average (6th), doubles (T6th) and RBI (T9th). The last White Sox to win American League Player of the Month honors was 1B José Abreu in August 2021. Abreu also is the last Sox to hit 10-plus home runs in a month (11 in August 2020). Robert is tied for fifth in MLB with nine 400-plus foot homers in 2023 and is averaging 407 ft. and 107.2 mph on his 12 homers.

No. 1 catcher Yasmani Grandal should be back Thursday after not starting Wednesday. Second baseman missed his third straight game Wednesday with a sore shoulder. Usual starting second baseman Elvis Andrus and DH Eloy Jimenez are both on the injured list.

The Sox currently are in a stretch of 16 straight games without a day off and are 13-9 during the current stretch of 29 games in 30 days from 5/2-31 (only off days in May are 5/1 and 5/15). The 29-game stretch includes 15 games at home, 14 on the road and 20 vs. the American League Central.

It’s Lucas Giolito on the mound here. Giolito (3-3) earned the win Saturday, allowing one run on six hits and one walk across six innings during a 5-1 win over the Royals. He struck out four. Giolito tossed his sixth quality start of the year. The veteran has finished at least six innings in eight straight starts and has allowed 15 runs on 38 hits with a 51:11 K:BB across 50.2 innings during that stretch.

Giolito is 6-6 with a 4.46 ERA (54 ER/109.0 IP), 126 strikeouts and a .233 (96-412) opponents average in 19 career starts (seven quality) against the Tigers. He is winless in his last four starts at Comerica Park, going 0-1 with a 4.12 ERA (9 ER/19.2 IP).

Bet Cubs to Win Today
MyBookie Betting Lines for the Game

Why Bet on Detroit?

The White Sox and Tigers will play 13 times in 2023: Six times at Guaranteed Rate Field and seven at Comerica Park. The Sox went 12-7 last season, going 5-5 at home and 7-2 on the road, and outscored the Tigers by a 100-59 margin. Chicago is 33-15 vs. Detroit since the start of the 2020 season, including a 14-7 mark at Comerica Park. The Sox have won seven of eight on the road following last year’s Opening Day loss in Detroit. The Tigers have finished below .500 against AL Central foes in each of the last five 162-game seasons, including a 34-42 record last season.

Tigers starting pitcher Casey Mize (elbow/back), a former No. 1 overall pick, experienced lower back soreness following his latest throwing session. Mize will be shut down for a week before trying to ramp up again. He required Tommy John surgery last June and then a back procedure shortly after. It’s unclear at this point whether the 26-year-old former top prospect is going to be a contributor at all for the Tigers in 2023. Sounds like no. The Tigers have suffered numerous injuries to the starting rotation over the last couple of years.

Since April 15, Detroit’s relief corps have combined for a Major League best 2.55 ERA (120.0IP/34ER), while also leading the American League and ranking second in the Majors with a 1.10 WHIP. Closer Alex Lange was very good last season, but he’s taken things to a whole new level this year. He currently has a 0.89 ERA and has struck out 27 batters in 20.1 IP. He could be trade bait with his value so high.

It’s Alex Faedo scheduled on Thursday. Faedo (0-2) took the loss last Saturday, giving up three runs on five hits over five innings as the Tigers were tamed 5-2 by the Nationals. He struck out four without walking a batter. Detroit gave the right-hander a 2-0 lead after the first inning, but Faedo couldn’t make it stick, and the Tigers’ offense went cold the rest of the way. He tossed 53 of 72 pitches for strikes before exiting but generated only four swinging strikes.

Through three starts and 15.2 innings, Faedo has served up five homers to help inflate his 4.60 ERA, but impressive control has led to a 12:1 K:BB and a 0.83 WHIP. Faedo has given up five home runs in three starts this season, after allowing just seven in 12 starts last season.

Last year as a rookie, Faedo made one start vs. Chicago and was pounded for seven runs and nine hits over three innings in a loss.

Bet Tigers to Win Today
MyBookie Betting Lines for the Game