A rare five game series between the Chicago White Sox and Kansas City Royals will wrap up on Friday with both teams having won two games a piece and looking forward their respective back end starter to lend a performance good enough to break the tie.
Chicago White Sox (-145, 9.5) vs Kansas City Royals
Both Carlos Hernandez and Vince Velasquez of the White Sox have had rough season with both posting an ERA above 5.50 and in the case of Hernandez, a 2.03 WHIP thanks to a walks per nine innings rate of 5.1.
Going in Hernandez’s favor though is the White Sox coming in cold at the plate, having scored four runs or fewer in 13 of their last 16 games while hitting .222 against right handed pitching, which ranks 24th in the league.
The Royals have also had their struggles at the plate, especially at home averaging 0.5 home runs per game in Kansas City at home, which is third-worst in the league and their 2.5 runs per game at home ranks last.
Both offenses are also dealing with injury’s as the White Sox have been without Eloy Jimenez while the Royals starting catcher and leader in home runs Salvador Perez landed on the 10 day injured list earlier this week.
While the starting pitchers for Thursday’s showdown have had a rough season to this point, facing a pair of struggling offense should get both some confidence moving forward and a chance to go deep in a series deciding game.
The Play: White Sox vs Royals Under 9.5
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