Chicago White Sox vs. Kansas City Royals August 22 Betting Preview

The Chicago White Sox are in contention to win the American League Central, while the Kansas City Royals are well out of the playoff race. But the Royals have had a slight upper hand over the White Sox this season, winning eight of their 15 meetings during the 2022 regular season.

On Monday, the Royals host the White Sox in an afternoon tilt, where the White Sox will look to even up the season series against their division foes.

Betting Odds

The White Sox (-162) are betting favorites in this matchup and have a -1.5 advantage on the runline. The over/under for total runs is set at 8.5.

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Chicago White Sox

Entering Monday, the Chicago White Sox have lost three of their last four games, snapping a three-game losing streak on Saturday against the Cleveland Guardians. During that stretch, the White Sox struggled mightily at the plate, scoring just two runs in three of those four games. In the one game where they exceeded two runs in their last four outings, they allowed 21 runs to the Houston Astros.

Chicago comes into this game in third place in the AL Central, 2.5 games back of the first place. They send Michael Kopech to the mound for this contest, as Kopech looks for his fifth win of the season. Kopech is 4-9 on the season but has a solid 3.25 ERA and will hope for a result more befitting of his numbers on the season against the lowly Royals.

Kansas City Royals

The Kansas City Royals have also struggled recently, losing four of their last five games heading into Monday’s action. Kansas City is coming off of a series where they lost three out of four to the Tampa Bay Rays. Here, they hope that they can continue to win games against the White Sox, as the Royals have logged nearly a sixth of their wins on the season over this one opponent.

Kansas City’s offense has struggled in its own right over their last five games, failing to break the three-run mark over that time frame. That will make starting pitching all the more important for the Royals as they send Daniel Lynch to the mound. Lynch is 4-8 on the year, with an ERA of 4.52, and he will need to do better at avoiding hard contact if the Royals are going to come away with another win over the White Sox.

Keys to the Game

The number one key to this game on both sides is the starting pitching that both teams are putting out there. Both pitchers have just four wins on the season and are well below .500 on the year. The pitcher who gets their team off to the best start will put their side in the best position to come away with a win here.

Looking specifically at the White Sox, their offense has to avoid the temptation to try and do too much here. They are favored to win this game as they look to claw their way to the top of the division over the Cleveland Guardians and Minnesota Twins. But no game is won with one swing, and the White Sox have to play intelligently to avoid a devastating loss.