MLB Odds: White Sox vs. Pirates prediction, pick, how to watch
The Chicago White Sox take on the Pittsburgh Pirates. Our MLB odds series has our White Sox Pirates prediction and pick. Find out how to watch White Sox Pirates.
The Chicago White Sox have ample reason to worry as their season gets going. It’s true that when staff ace Dylan Cease pitches, they are very hard to beat. Cease has delivered two strong starts in the early stages of the 2023 season, and the Sox know that if they go through a rough patch, Cease will usually put a stop to it.
The problem is that the White Sox are likely to have a lot of rough patches, based on how they pitch in the games Cease doesn’t start. Chicago has been thrashed in its last two games, giving up a total of 29 runs in those contests. The White Sox lost 16-6 to the San Francisco Giants on Thursday. Then they lost 13-9 to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday. The loss to Pittsburgh on Friday was especially deflating since the Sox had a 5-2 lead going into the bottom of the fourth. They legitimately wasted a lead and squandered a good offensive performance in that game. The loss to the Giants was much more of a one-day blowout, with Chicago grabbing three very late runs when the outcome had essentially been decided.
The White Sox badly need the middle of their starting rotation to improve. If that does not happen, the Cleveland Guardians and Minnesota Twins are going to chew them up and spit them out in the American League Central. The White Sox are also operating this season within the new context created by MLB’s schedule adjustments. The Sox no longer have the ability to play the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals 19 times per season. MLB’s schedule now has teams play more opponents. The days of fattening up 19 times on weak in-division opponents are over. The White Sox have to be able to defeat a wider range of opponents. If they lose this game to the Pirates, they will lose the series.
Here are the White Sox-Pirates MLB odds,
MLB Odds: White Sox-Pirates Odds
Chicago White Sox: -1.5 (+134)
Pittsburgh Pirates: +1.5 (-162)
Over: 8.5 (-118)
Under: 8.5 (-104)
How To Watch White Sox vs Pirates
TV: NBC Sports Chicago (White Sox) / AT&T Sportsnet Pittsburgh (Pirates) / MLB Extra Innings
Stream: MLB.tv
Time: 6:35 p.m. ET/3:35 p.m. PT
*Watch White Sox-Pirates LIVE on fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The White Sox Could Cover The Spread
The White Sox can’t pitch any worse than they have over the past two days. If only by regression to the mean and honoring the laws of averages, the White Sox should pitch a lot better in this game. If they give up only four runs to the Pirates, they should be able to score at least five. They did score nine runs in Friday’s loss. Surely, their pitching is not going to hemorrhage runs for a third consecutive game. That would simply be far too improbable, even in a sport — baseball — which is regularly confounding.
Vince Velasquez is the starting pitcher for the Pirates. He used to pitch for the White Sox. Guys in the Chicago dugout know what works and doesn’t work for him. They should be able to hit him hard.
Why The Pirates Could Cover The Spread
The Pirates are playing great baseball. They’re riding a hot streak, having swept the Boston Red Sox in Fenway Park and then coming home to beat the White Sox before a boisterous crowd in their own ballyard. Pittsburgh is getting ample pitching and hitting — it’s not just coming from one or two sources. The Pirates are feeling great, and Chicago pitching has been awful. Why not pick the Pirates?
Final White Sox-Pirates Prediction & Pick
The White Sox are bound to pitch better, and they should be able to hit Vince Velasquez hard. Take the White Sox.
Final White Sox-Pirates Prediction & Pick: White Sox -1.5
