The Chicago White Sox and Chicago Cubs will start a two-game mini-series over the weekend. The Windy City Rivalry is going to be exciting.
Which team will earn bragging rights in the first game of the series? Let’s see what the MLB odds tell us at the top sportsbooks!
Saturday, May 28, 2022- 07:15 PM EDT at Guaranteed Rate Field
The Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox will start a new series on a Saturday. That doesn’t happen often in the MLB, but the two Chicago teams will begin a two-game weekend series against one another this weekend.
With both of these teams in different conferences and divisions, the only thing that matters is a win and bragging rights.
Which team can start off the mini-series with a bang? Here are our picks and predictions for the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox game on Saturday, May 28.
It hasn’t been confirmed just yet, but it looks like Keegan Thompson will get the start for the Cubs. Thompson has a 4.96 xFIP in the last 30 days with 19.2% of strikeouts.
On the other hand, it’ll be Johnny Cueto who takes the mound for the White Sox.
The Cubs have a .170 ISO and wOBA of .296 against righties in the last 30 days. However, the Cubs are also striking out 27.8% of the time using their projected lineup against righties in the last 30 days.
That should help Cueto keep things under control. There is a lot of power in the Cubs’ lineup but so far, Cueto has kept those power numbers down.
The White Sox don’t have the better offense on paper but have the better matchup overall.
The White Sox will have at least five righties in the lineup against Thompson, who has struggled to get righties out more this season.
Again, Thompson has struggled against righties in the last 30 days. The right-handed pitcher is only striking out 14.7% of righties in the last 30 days and he’s actually also walking 7.7% of lefties in the last 30 days.
There’s room for the White Sox to have some success, even though the team has struggled to find any kind of offense consistently this season.
The White Sox are only striking out 20.2% of the time in the last 30 days using their projected lineup against righties.
There’s reason to believe that the White Sox could put the ball in play against Thompson. A couple clutch hits would likely be enough with Cueto on the mound.
On the other hand, Johnny Cueto is bound to allow a run or two. But for now, we’ve got to run with him. He’s allowed no runs in two starts with 12 innings under his belt.
The Cubs have a lot of power but also strike out a ton and have a low wOBA against righties in the last 30 days.
The Cubs have just two players hitting a high wOBA against righties. Cueto should be just fine tonight.
Therefore, I’ll take the White Sox against the Cubs on the moneyline, at home. The White Sox should have the pieces to get a couple of runs against Thompson.
Meanwhile, the Cubs could end up striking out a whole lot against Cueto, giving them little opportunity to score runs.
The only way for the Cubs to win this game is to add a bunch of power. So far, Cueto has kept those power numbers down.
With my MLB pick, let’s take the Chicago White Sox in this Chicago rivalry. This mini-series is going to be fun.
MLB Pick: White Sox (-145) with BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.