Oakland Athletics vs. Chicago White Sox Best Bets and Prediction
Thursday night sees an American League battle between two of the worst teams in baseball as the Oakland Athletics (36-91) square off with the Chicago White Sox (50-77).
With the chances of making the playoffs practically nonexistent at this point, both of these teams are simply playing for pride as the season winds down.
As you consider your MLB picks, read ahead to get a breakdown of this matchup and the Athletics vs White Sox best bets.
Oakland Athletics vs Chicago White Sox
Location of the game: Guaranteed Rate Field, Chicago, IL.
Date & Time: Thursday, August 24. 8:10 pm ET.
How to watch: MLB.TV
Looking at the MLB schedule, the Athletics come into this one having gone just 3-7 in their last ten games. On the road this season, they are a dismal 13-46.
Despite their rough season, they did win their last series over the Kansas City Royals, taking two of three. Oakland did lose Wednesday’s finale 4-0.
The Oakland Athletics standings in the AL West have them in dead last, 36.5 games out of first. In fact, Oakland has the worst record in all of baseball at 36-91.
The Chicago White Sox schedule has not been much better. They have also lost seven of their last ten games, and they are just 26-35 when playing at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Chicago dropped their last series against the Mariners, although they did win the finale on Wednesday 5-4. In the series, they were outscored 24 to 10.
Chicago sits fourth in the AL Central, 15 games behind the Minnesota Twins.
Hoping to pick up the opener in this contest, the Athletics will turn to 25-year-old lefty Ken Waldichuk. This season, he is 2-7 in 28 games with a 5.91 ERA and 1.68 WHIP, and he has 107 strikeouts in 105 innings.
Despite his poor MLB player stats, Waldichuk has allowed just five earned runs over his last 16.2 innings of work.
The Oakland Athletics roster currently ranks dead last in MLB teams stats in scoring, averaging just 3.60 runs per game (3.80 on the road).
Leading Oakland’s offense is rookie Brent Rooker, who is hitting .245/.328/.470 with a team-leading 21 home runs and 54 runs batted in.
White Sox manager Pedro Grifol will give the ball to 29-year-old righty Jesse Scholtens in this one. In 20 games, he is 1-6 with a 3.79 ERA and 1.35 WHIP, and he has 42 strikeouts in 59.1 innings.
Scholtens has picked up losses in back-to-back starts, giving up eight earned runs in a combined 9.1 innings.
In terms of MLB team stats, the White Sox rank 25th in scoring, averaging 4.12 runs per game (3.98 at home).
Outfielder Luis Robert has by far been Chicago’s best hitter this season. In 459 at bats, Robert is hitting .266/.321/.551 with a team-leading 33 home runs, 67 runs batted in, 78 runs scored, and 16 stolen bases.
Before determining the Athletics vs White Sox best bets, it is important to look at the MLB odds for this game.
Oakland is the underdog playing on the road Thursday with a moneyline of +127. They are +1.5 on the spread, with odds of +127.
With their struggles this season, it has been somewhat rare for the White Sox to be favorites. In this game, though, they are -142 to win at home and are -1.5 on the spread, with odds of +135.
The over/under for total runs sits at 9.5. The over has odds of -115, while the under 9.5 runs has odds of -105.
- For our Athletics vs White Sox best bets, we will be taking the Athletics on the spread (-155).
While Oakland has been abysmal all season, Chicago’s Jesse Scholtens has just not impressed. In seven home games (two starts), he is just 1-1 with a 4.09 ERA.
Waldichuk has not been especially solid on the road this year, but with two struggling teams, taking the +1.5 runs might be the best play.
The over has hit in five of the last six Athletics games. It has also hit in five of the last six White Sox games. Don’t expect that trend to stop here, especially with the subpar pitching.
- Take the over 9.5 runs (-115).
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