Bryan Armetta offers up a preview, prediction and pick for Thursday’s MLB game between the Kansas City Royals and Chicago White Sox.
Don’t look now, but the White Sox (21-21) are going streaking. Chicago has won four straight games, hoping to turn around one of baseball’s most beleaguered franchises. The South Siders will attempt to earn a series sweep this evening against the rival Royals (19-24). Can Kansas City pick up a road win on Thursday night?
The Royals are favorites (-137) over the White Sox, with the over/under set at eight runs. Below, I’ve laid out my preview, prediction, and best bet for Thursday’s showdown between Kansas City and Chicago on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Royals vs. White Sox prediction, preview
Pitching, once seen as a strength, has been underwhelming so far for Kansas City. That’s due in part to the absence of ace Cole Ragans, sidelined with an elbow injury. Fortunately for the Royals, fellow All-Star Kris Bubic is capable of picking up the slack. Through 46.1 innings this season, the southpaw has notched a 3.50 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 47 strikeouts. The 28-year-old isn’t a fireballer, instead flummoxing opponents with deception. Bubic’s two favorite off-speed pitches are the changeup (21%) and sweeper (16%). Chicago batters have posted a .272 wOBA against those two offerings this season.
The rub for Kansas City? Hitting has been a constant issue over the past two seasons. That’s despite employing one of the sport’s premier hitters in Bobby Witt Jr. This season, the shortstop is slashing .306/.378/.506 with seven homers and 12 stolen bases. The two-time All-Star is starting to heat up as well; he’s clobbered four dingers over his last six contests. Unfortunately for the Royals, the rest of this offense leaves much to be desired. Just one other lineup regular, Maikel Garcia, has a wRC+ above 105. As a unit, KC is averaging 4.16 runs per game this season. That’s tied for the seventh-worst mark in baseball.
The White Sox have mashed their way towards second place in the wide-open AL Central. They’ve slugged 55 home runs this season, fourth-most in the majors. Much of the credit goes to prized offseason signing Munetaka Murakami. Despite concerns over his penchant for strikeouts, the Japanese slugger is already one of the league’s better power hitters. Through 42 games, he’s jacked 15 long balls en route to a .537 slugging percentage, sixth-best in the AL. Still, this isn’t a one-man show. Four Chicago regulars have delivered an OPS of at least .800, including former top prospects Miguel Vargas (.848) and Colson Montgomery (.831).
Pitching depth has proven difficult for the South Siders this season. Thursday’s starter, Anthony Kay, is proof of that. The left-hander has delivered a middling 4.89 ERA and 1.57 WHIP through 35.0 innings this season. To make matters worse, the 31-year-old has actually gotten lucky so far. He owns a whopping 6.70 xERA, primarily due to an inability to generate whiffs (15.3 K%). Kay ranks within the bottom tenth percentile of pitchers in expected batting average (.296), expected slugging percentage (.501) and xwOBA (.396). Even the inconsistent Royals are capable of putting some pressure on the veteran hurler tonight.
Royals vs. White Sox pick, best bet
Bubic is one of the Junior Circuit’s better pitchers, but this is a difficult matchup. Chicago owns baseball’s fifth-best OPS against left-handers (.770). It’s a fairly patient group as well, which could give Bubic trouble (4.5 BB/9). On the other side, Kay has outperformed his already mediocre traditional statistics. Kansas City and the red-hot Witt Jr. should generate some early offense this evening.
Best Bet: Royals vs. White Sox over eight total runs (-107)
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source dknetwork.draftkings.com ’
