Chicago plans for righty Michael Kopech to make the start, while Seattle expects to counter with right-hander Bryan Woo. The first pitch at T-Mobile Park is set for 10:10 pm, and Apple TV+ will televise the ballgame.
White Sox Finding Form
Chicago has won six of their last 10 matchups but just 2-3 over their previous five. The White Sox are 13-22 as the away side and 4-6 against the American League West. This past week, Chicago was dealt a huge blow when closer Liam Hendricks was placed in the IL with elbow trouble. Hendricks had missed the entire season dealing with a cancer prognosis, which was a harsh blow and infielder Yoan Moncada has been placed on the IL Thursday afternoon and won’t play in this series.
3B Jake Burger and CF Luis Robert have each clubbed a pair of bombs with four RBI over the White Sox’s last five. Catcher Yasmani Grandal is batting .438 over his previous 16 at-bats. SS Tim Anderson is riding the struggle bus and is 2-17 over his last four tilts.
Kopech (3-5, 4.05) has allowed six earned runs over his previous 31.1 frames on the bump. Kopech has been mediocre away from Guaranteed Rate Field but threw seven innings of shutout ball in his last away start against the Cleveland Guardians. Kopech strikes out three fewer on the road than at home, and his away xFIP is 0.50 runs higher than his 4.07 away ERA.
Seattle Struggling to Find Consistency
Seattle has lost six of their last 10 but has won three of their previous five tilts. Seattle is nine games behind the Texas Rangers in the AL West and has a .500 record against the AL Central. Injuries to starting pitchers Robbie Ray and Marco Gonzalez have caused most of the inconsistency, and having the No. 10 offense in the AL hasn’t helped much.
1B Mike Ford has cracked four bombs over his past five games, and 1B Ty France has eight hits with RBI over his last six contests. OF Teoscar Hernandez has seven hits with four RBI, but CF Julio Rodriguez is batting .154 with four hits over his previous 26 at-bats.
Woo (0-1, 10.80) has been pressed into action due to the injuries to the starting rotation. Woo has made two away starts this season and has surrendered eight earned runs over his last 6.2 frames. The young righty does have 11 strikeouts to his credit and an xFIP eight runs lower than his small sample-sized ERA.
Chicago White Sox vs. Seattle Mariners Best Bet: Chicago White Sox +120 (DraftKings)
Kopech has been pitching terrific baseball, and my best bet is White Sox +120 at DraftKings.
The White Sox hurler got off to a rocky start to his season but has settled down and is firing seeds. Kopech is striking out nine per nine away from Guaranteed Rate Field and has struck out nine or more in four of his last five starts. Seattle has one of the highest strikeout rates in the AL against righties, and Kopech should continue his hot hand against Seattle and give the Pale Hose a chance to win.
Woo pitched much better in his second start than he did in the first one against Texas. The young fella has electric stuff, but the White Sox don’t strike out as much against righties, and Woo won’t likely enjoy the same amount of free-outs as he’s grown accustomed to. The White Sox aren’t the most consistent offense in the game, but they should be able to rough up Woo early and hang on behind a big game from Kopech. Best Bet: Chicago White Sox +120 (DraftKings)
