Chicago White Sox vs Kansas City Royals 5/8/23 – The Chicago White Sox and Kansas City Royals will face each other for the first time ever (this season) in a Monday night game. Last season, the Royals edged out the White Sox 10-9 and claimed victory in their season series. However, the White Sox are predicted to win here as per the best MLB picks today. The starting pitchers will be Zack Greinke and Dylan Cease.
Chicago White Sox vs Kansas City Royals
Date & Time: Monday, May 8, 2023 at 7:40 PM ET
Location: Ewing M. Kauffman Stadium
TV: Bally Sports Network
Chicago White Sox vs Kansas City Royals 5/8/23 Betting Odds
White Sox
Moneyline: -127
Spread: -1.5 (+120)
Total: 9 over (+100)
Royals
Moneyline: +126
Spread: +1.5 (-140)
Total: 9 under (-120)
Chicago White Sox vs Kansas City Royals Analysis
That pretty much summarizes what happened during the Chicago White Sox‘s latest game. Chicago rode an 11-run second inning to an easy 17-4 victory before their flight to Kansas City. Seven of Chicago’s starters registered multiple hits and six of them recorded multiple RBIs. White Sox offense entered Sunday 23rd in runs per game; by game’s end they had moved up 14 spots into 14th position. The lineup hasn’t been particularly productive this season, except for their impressive 91.3% success rate in stealing bases. Sunday’s victory propelled Chicago into this series as winners in five of seven previous contests they’ve entered so far. Pitching has been an issue with this team, ranking 28th overall with an ERA of 5.50 at the start of this week. The bullpen enters with the highest HR/9 rate in majors and second-highest team ERA. Dylan Cease has fallen far short of meeting the high expectations he set himself this season. He’ll get the call in this game after yielding at least three runs in five consecutive starts. His walk rate ranks ninth-highest in the league. Kansas City rarely presents Cease with problems as his 2.58 ERA against them over 12 starts speaks for itself. Last season against the Royals, they compiled a 1.53 earned run average in 17.2 innings of work.
Facing one of MLB’s bottom teams at home – Oakland Athletics – the Kansas City Royals dropped their opening two games of their series, leaving only Sunday as an avenue out. Their 5-1 win featured a solid performance by Ryan Yarbrough, 3.1 shutdown innings from their bullpen, and an amazing Salvador Perez home run that finished 3-4 for Kansas City; along with Vinnie Pasquantino who hit three homers as key bats; plus their reliever group currently ranks amongst top-10 in strikeout rate. Starting pitchers haven’t had an easy time of it along Missouri’s western border, something Zack Greinke will attempt to address here. Greinke has already made seven starts this season and his latest was perhaps his finest outing yet. Facing off against an aggressive Orioles offense, Greinke produced 5.0 shutout innings while earning the win. Greinke has faced off against Chicago’s AL team 31 times throughout his 20-year career and posted an impressive 2.50 ERA in 18.0 innings against them last season. Greinke may be getting older, but his walk rate still ranks sixth among qualified pitchers.
Chicago White Sox vs Kansas City Royals Against the Spread
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Chi White Sox’s last 5 games. The White Sox are 5-2 SU in their last 7 games. The White Sox are 2-4 SU in their last 6 games against Kansas City. Chi White Sox are 2-9 SU in their last 11 games on the road. The White Sox are 1-4 SU in their last 5 games when playing on the road against Kansas City.
Kansas City are 5-15 SU in their last 20 games. The total has gone OVER in 4 of Kansas City’s last 6 games against the Chi White Sox. Kansas City are 2-13 SU in their last 15 games at home. Kansas City are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games when playing at home against the Chi White Sox. The total has gone OVER in 10 of Kansas City’s last 14 games against an opponent in the American League Central Division division.
Chicago White Sox vs Kansas City Royals Free Pick
Zack Greinke may one day find his way into Cooperstown, but right now he’s simply an average pitcher whose sole strength lies in walk rate. Outside of that stat, there’s not much else he is doing well anymore. Dylan Cease has also been receiving hits hard, yet boasts sharper pitches at this point in their careers. Cease has the advantage of an improved offense supporting him; Chicago’s bullpen is known to collapse more frequently as per the baseball online experts.
Free Pick: Chicago White Sox -1.5 (+120)
