Click here to subscribe today or Login.
We’re well into the midst of a June swoon in this column, with two more losers last week.
Trying to hit on the soccer field, well, maybe that wasn’t my brightest idea. But I’ve been whiffing more often than not when it comes to the MLB, too, and that’s more troubling.
I don’t have much of a preamble in mind for today anyway, so let’s just cut right to the chase. We need some winners this week — let’s find them.
White Sox ML -110 vs. Rockies
Friday, 7:10 p.m.
I know, I know: saying “we need some winners” and following immediately by taking the White Sox is a very, very tough visual. I get it.
But hear me out.
The White Sox bring the worst offense in the league into Friday night’s series opener with the Rockies, the worst rotation and bullpen in the league. Something has to give!
I’m taking the ChiSox here mainly because of the expected pitching matchup: Chicago’s Drew Thorpe vs. Dakota Hudson for the Rockies.
The White Sox just wrapped up three with the Dodgers, they had a rain make-up with the Braves on Thursday, so facing Colorado is definitely a softer landing spot for Thorpe.
It’ll only be his fourth big league start, but Thorpe looked excellent last time out against Detroit, tossing six scoreless to earn his first career win.
If you could navigate the top of the Rockies order — Ezequiel Tovar has been good, Ryan McMahon’s always solid — you should be fine, and I expect Thorpe to be OK (worth noting, it’s a home game for the White Sox: no Coors Field offense).
I’ve criticized Dakota Hudson in this column before, and he did prove me wrong by throwing well against the Dodgers back on May 31. Since then? He’s averaged four earned runs over his last four starts, including eight earned runs over three innings against the Nationals in his last start.
It might not be a lot of runs needed to win this one, I’ll side with the White Sox to do just enough to pull out the win.
Tigers-Angels
OVER 9 Runs -110
Friday, 9:38 p.m.
I don’t go to the over/under well much, I don’t think I’m all that sharp betting totals, but this one jumped out at me the minute I saw it.
Expected starters are Kenta Maeda for the Tigers, and Zach Plesac for the Angels. The BETTER earned run average between those two, belonging to Maeda, is a whopping 6.00.
Plesac’s a tougher case to study: he’s only made two starts for the Angels this season after spending the early part of the year in Triple-A, making 13 starts to the tune of a 3-7 record and a 5.42 ERA. Once upon a time, he was a pretty solid piece of the Guardians’ rotation, so it’s been something of a career downturn for Plesac since Cleveland cut him loose.
He was fairly good against the Brewers in his Angels debut, six innings and three earned runs, but gave up six earned in just 3.1 innings of work in his last start. Across both starts, Plesac has just two total strikeouts and allowed four homers.
Maeda doesn’t have the “recently called up” excuse, he’s just been plain bad. His strikeout numbers are low, and he hasn’t made it through six innings since May 1.
Neither offense is exactly lighting up the league this year, but there will be plenty of opportunities to hit the ball hard for both sides.
A plus for the Angels, who have some pop in their lineup: the Tigers are one of the worst defensive teams in baseball, making 51 errors already this year. The Angels have made 43 themselves, so they’re not much sharper.
For me, it all adds up to runs, and I’m betting accordingly.