Why the White Sox on Sunday at +135...The White Sox look to even the series against the Twins on Sunday where the Twins have taken the last two. Despite the White Sox record over their last seven games, the bats still seem to be in play as the Sox have posted 4 RPG with a .257 BA/.311 OBP over their last seven games. The Sox offensive numbers also takes a jump during day games where they average 4.4 RPG to go with a .257 BA/.329 OBP. The White Sox will send James Shields to the bump who is coming off of a fine start on the road against the Cardinals where he allowed 1 run through 6 IP on 2 hits, 0 BBs and 4 Ks. Looking deeper into that start against the Cards, Shields saw his GB% increase to 47% compared to his season average of 39%. Shields also posted a soft contact% of 20% (season high) and a hard contact% of 26% (season low). With a fairly stress free day of 93 pitches in that start, we like Shields in this spot at home where he has allowed just 1 HR on the season. The Twins come into this game winning their last three of seven games where they averaged 4.9 RPG to go with a .264 BA/.332 OBP. Kyle Gibson will take the ball for Minny who has posted above-average number to date. In Gibson's last road start against the Yankees, he allowed 0 runs on 1 hit through 6 IP on 3 BBs and 10 Ks. In Gibson's next start against the Blue Jays at home, he saw his BABIP against rise from .125 against the Yankees on the road to .333 against the Jays at home. In those starts against the Jays and Yankees, Gibson posted a hard contact% of 62% in each start. Comparing that to his season average hard contact% of 39% and a rising BABIP against, we will fade Gibson in this road start. Something to note with Gibson is that he is already seeing bloated day time numbers in 2018. Through 14 IP, he sees his era rise to 3.68 where he allowed 15 hits on 8 BBs and 17 Ks. When going back to 2017, notice that Gibson posted a 3-7 record with a 6.51 era during the day where he allowed 13 HRs.
Play on the White Sox at +135
Play on the White Sox at +135
