White Sox vs Cubs Baseball Picks
The White Sox have been a bit of a pleasant surprise thanks to a high octane slugging offense. The leader of that group has been cuban import rookie Jose Abreu who leads the Majors in homers and is second in RBIs.
Chicago White Sox (15-17) vs. Chicago Cubs (11-18)
Monday May 5
Wrigley Field – Chicago, IL
8:05PM
Probable Pitchers
CHW: Jose Quintana (L)
CHI: Jeff Samardzija (R)
Moneyline: Cubs -118, White Sox +108
Total: OFF as of 10am ET
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White Sox
Before the season started no one doubted his power but they thought the league would catch up to him quickly.
I think both camps are right. The power is legit but he is hitting just .258. Perhaps the best result of Abreu’s performance is that it takes a little pressure off of Adam Dunn.
He is off to a very solid start hitting a Cobb-esque (for him) .278.
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If Chicago had half decent pitching they might actually be in the race right now instead of 2 games under .500. Their team ERA is almost 5 and their WHIP is the worst in the league right now.
On this terrible staff lefty Quintana has actually been the shining star with an ERA at an even 4.
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Sadly with Chris Sale out indefinitely he has become the ace by default. His home numbers are much better so far this season.
Cubs
The Cubs saw their season high three game winning streak come to a close on Sunday Night Baseball against St. Louis.
Not a ton was expected of this team this season but I think they were expected a little more punch from their offense this season.
They may not be scoring a ton of runs but the fact that SS Starlin Castro is hitting well is a very good sign as he dramatically fell off last season. 1B Anthony Rizzo has also been a pleasant surprise too but really this club is counting down the days until they bring up their uber power hitting prospects.
Jeff Samardzija is the ace of a surprisingly middle of the pack pitching staff. His 1.98 ERA leads the team and if he played for any team other than the Cubs he would probably have already earned a win this season – he is 0-3.
Hopefully the futility isn’t getting to him as he suffered his worst outing of the season the last time out against Cincinnati.
Prior to that he had pitched at least 7 IP without giving up more than 2ER in every game this season.
I am not sure that has become a rivalry yet because neither of these teams have really been good at the same time. I think that Samardzija can pick up his first win of the season in this one.
I am hoping for a relatively low total too.
If it is 8.5 or lower I will get behind the over as well.
Score prediction: Cubs 5 – White Sox 4
