Mariners at White Sox Preview and Pick
Mariners at White Sox Preview and Pick – The Chicago White Sox will try to get back on their feet this weekend in an AL series against the Seattle Mariners in Chicago.
Despite the White Sox having split in two games vs the pitiful Pittsburgh Pirates, they were able to secure a win that sprung them back to life from a five-game losing streak by winning in the finale.
The Mariners are 5-1 in their last six games in series vs the Rays and Rockies.
Overall, the White Sox are 44-30 on the season and are sitting atop the weak AL Central division. The 39-37 Mariners are third in the AL West behind two of baseball’s best teams in the Houston Astros and Oakland Athletics. The Athletics have extended their win streak to twelve to help them reach their division lead, one game ahead of the Athletics.
Keys to Mariners vs White Sox on Friday
It’s imperative that the Mariners continue to tack on wins to keep themselves alive in a competitive AL West division behind the Houston and Oakland.
Yusei Kikuchi will take the mound for the Mariners as the starter for Friday’s game. The 30-year-old left-handed pitcher may have a tough battle in this one as the White Sox have shown a liking this season towards hitting against left-handers.
Chicago holds splits that sit at a .272 batting average and .792 OPS in such outings.
On the season, Yusei Kikuchi is 4-3 and has pitched an ERA of 3.46 and 1.04 whip in 80.2 innings pitched.
On the bump for the Chicago White Sox will be their Ace, Carlos Rodon. Rondon holds a record of 6-2 on the season, and has an amazing ERA at 1.83. In his last start, he only allowed three hits and surrendered one run. Sadly those great seven innings of work ended up in a White Sox loss to the Houston Astros.
The Chicago White Sox are ninth in runs per game, and leading the way for that offense is the AL MVP Jose Abreu. When at the plate this season, 53 RBIs with 12 home runs, and has splits of .242/.318/.438.
He also has the help of Tim Anderson, Yoan Moncada and Yermin Mercedes
All 3 have at least 25 RBIs and are batting above .270.
For the Mariners, it has been tough sledding at the plate. They hold the leagues 2nd worst team batting average at .215, and are also 21st when it comes to Runs per game scored.
Their key players offensively are Kyle Seager and Mitch Haniger.
Haniger is coming into this series with 16 homer runs and 41 RBIs, and over his 280 plate appearances he has splits of .246/.294/.479. While not amazing, those splits are probably the best on the team.
Seager has 13 home runs and 43 RBIs, but has not shown the most impressive splits from the plate.
They both struggle versus left handers so this matchup with Rodon may be troublesome.
Prediction
Although the White Sox have been struggling, you can’t deny the talent of Carlos Rodon for the White Sox this season, and he should be able to take advantage of a terrible hitting team in the Mariners.
Kikuchi on the mound may have a decent outing, but it will be hard for him to outduel Rodon.
The under has good potential to me here at 7.5 runs. Rodon has continued to keep runs from scoring home plate only allowing one run over each of his last three games. Kikuchi is also coming off a strong start in a Mariners win over a strong Rays team.
The run line is what intrigues me. I think the Sox have the capability of crossing at least four runs in this game, while they watch Rodon pitch another great game.
Final Picks: White Sox -1.5 (+115) Under 7.5 (-115)
