White Sox vs. Brewers MLB | Central Division Leaders Clash

One of the marquee series of the weekend around Major League Baseball is a potential World Series preview between Central Division leaders as the White Sox make the short trip from Chicago to Milwaukee to face the Brewers, who are favored on the MLB odds for Friday’s opener.

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

When: Friday, 8:10 PM ET
Where: American Family Field
Probable pitchers (away/home): Lucas Giolito/Freddy Peralta
TV: MLB Extra Innings
Stream/gameday audio: https://www.mlb.com/live-stream-games/
Opening MLB Lines: Brewers -120, White Sox +110 (total 7.5)

Why Bet on Chicago?

Chicago enters at 58-38 and a huge lead in the AL Central, although the Pale Hose were routed 7-2 in their last game Wednesday by the Twins. Tim Anderson was a bright spot as he went 2-for-4 with a double, two steals and a walk. Anderson has hit safely in 17 of his last 18 games, batting .375 over that stretch. He has a terrific season slash line of .312/.347/.457 with nine homers, 62 runs scored, 36 RBI, and 16 steals over 357 plate appearances.

Jose Abreu has hit safely in nine of his last 10 games, batting .351/.455/.784 (13-37) with five doubles, three home runs and 12 RBI. Yoan Moncada is hitting .346/.393/.808 (9-26) with three doubles, three homers and five RBI over his first seven games of the second half. He has hit safely in each of those games. The White Sox are 30-3 when recording 10-plus hits this season.

It’s Lucas Giolito (8-6, 3.90) on the mound for Chicago. Giolito delivered a dominant performance in last Saturday’s complete game victory over the Astros, allowing just one run on three hits. The 26-year-old right-hander struck out eight and didn’t walk a batter. After allowing a first-inning double to Michael Brantley, Giolito retired 22 consecutive batters before Abraham Toro touched him for a two-out home run in the eighth.

Giolito needed just 107 pitches (78 strikes) to record his 27 outs. He generated 17 swings and misses in the game — nine on his fastball. It was his fifth career complete game and first since no-hitting the Pirates on Aug. 25 last season.

Giolito ranks among American League leaders in strikeouts (4th, 133), strikeouts per 9.0 IP (8th, 10.04), opponents average (8th, .220), WHIP (8th, 1.11) and wins (9th, 8). He will make just his second career start against Milwaukee. Giolito earned the win against the Brewers on 8/4/20 in Milwaukee (2 ER/6.0 IP). He is 4-7 with a 5.32 ERA (51 ER/86.1 IP) in 15 career interleague starts.

Why Bet on Milwaukee?

Milwaukee is 58-41 and also has a sizable lead in the NL Central, although the Brewers were surprisingly swept at home two games to open this week by the lousy Kansas City Royals. Milwaukee has lost five straight at home for the first time since dropping six in a row there from 8/25-8/30, 2016.

Former NL MVP Christian Yelich is starting to heat up as went 2-for-4 with an RBI double Wednesday. He has three multi-hit showings in his last four contests.

Freddy Peralta (7-3) takes the mound for Milwaukee. His last time on the bump was in the All-Star Game. Peralta mowed down a trio of American League All-Stars — Adolis Garcia, J.D. Martinez, and Matt Olson — on just 12 total pitches, 10 of which went for strikes. He is the first Brewers pitcher ever to strike out the side in an All-Star Game.

Before that, he took a no-decision against the Reds, allowing three runs on two hits and two walks over five-plus innings of work. He carried a no-hit bid into the sixth inning, until Jesse Winker reached on an infield single after Jonathan India had walked to begin the frame. Nick Castellanos then blasted a three-run homer, chasing Peralta from the game. Peralta has 2.39 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 135/44 K/BB ratio (98 innings).

The Brewers are 11-6 in Peralta’s 17 starts this year and he has 10 quality outings. Opponents are batting .131 off him. His only career outing against the White Sox came in relief on 8/6/20 at Guaranteed Rate Field. He threw 3.0 scoreless innings, allowing 1 hit.

Since Peralta was deployed as a full-time reliever in 2020, the Brewers are likely eager to monitor his innings carefully the rest of the way, even though he’s shown no signs of slowly down while working as a starter. That’s why he hasn’t pitched in a while.

Game Trends

White Sox are 9-4 in their last 13 games following an off day.
White Sox are 24-11 in their last 35 games following a loss.
White Sox are 17-35 in their last 52 interleague games vs. a team with a winning record.
Brewers are 5-2 in their last 7 games following an off day.
Brewers are 7-3 in their last 10 home games vs. a right-handed starter.
Brewers are 2-5 in their last 7 games following a loss.