Chicago White Sox vs. Cleveland Guardians April 20 Betting Preview

After two days of postponements due to weather, the Chicago White Sox (6-3) and the Cleveland Guardians (4-5) will finally get their series started on Wednesday. The two teams will play a doubleheader at Progressive Field, with Game 1 scheduled to start at 2:10 p.m.

Coming into play Wednesday, the White Sox have won every series thus far, taking two of three games in each. In their last series, they took the first two against the Rays before dropping the finale 9-3.

For the first week of the season, the Guardians were one of the hottest teams in baseball. After losing their first two games, they won the next four outscoring their opponents 44-18.

Unfortunately, they fell flat after that, being swept by the San Francisco Giants over the weekend at home. In that series, they were outscored 16-4.

Betting Odds

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In the first game of the doubleheader, the Guardians are the favorites. They are -142 to win while Chicago’s moneyline sits at +120. The spread features Chicago +1.5 (-178), and the over/under for total runs is eight.

Pitching Matchup

In Game 1 of the doubleheader, the White Sox will send veteran southpaw Dallas Keuchel (1-0, 5.40 ERA) to the mound. The Guardians will counter with right-handed ace Shane Bieber (0-0, 2.70 ERA).

In the second game of the doubleheader, the White Sox will send righty Jimmy Lambert (0-1, 6.00 ERA) to the bump to square off with the Guardians’ Triston McKenzie (0-1, 2.57 ERA).

White Sox Look To Control The Central Again

Last season, the White Sox finished the season 93-69, 13 games ahead of the second-place Guardians. While they dominated at home last season (53-28), they were less than stellar on the road (40-41).

On Wednesday, they will continue to work towards improving their road play in 2022 as they travel to Cleveland. In their last six games against the Guardians, they are 4-2, and they are 6-2 in their last eight against AL Central teams.

Jose Abreu is a player to keep an eye on in the early game Wednesday. In 30 at bats against Shane Bieber, he is hitting .267 with three home runs and four runs batted in against the righty.

Tim Anderson (.296), Eloy Jimenez (.375), and Leury Garcia (one home run) have also had success against Bieber.

Guardians Look To End Losing Streak

While the White Sox may have had the better record last season, the Cleveland Guardians will roll out the stronger pitching in Wednesday’s twin billing. Shane Bieber and Triston McKenzie are two of the best in Cleveland’s loaded staff. Last season, Bieber was 7-4 with a 3.17 ERA, while McKenzie was 5-9 with a 4.95 ERA.

While inconsistent, the Guardians’ offense has still been near the top this season in most offensive categories as they are collectively hitting .276/.348/.451 with nine home runs, 48 runs batted in, and 49 runs in just nine games.

The offense has been led by perennial All-Star Jose Ramirez. The 29-year-old third baseman is hitting .457/.500/.886 with a team-high three home runs and 15 runs batted in.

Against the two starters Wednesday, Ramirez is hitting .318 in 22 at bats versus Keuchel and .250 against Lambert with a home run.

Cleveland Has The Starting Pitching To Take Two

While they don’t have to light the world on fire offensively, the Guardians will have to perform better than they did over the weekend.

If they can even get Bieber and McKenzie just a few runs, they could be in a good spot to pick up two victories on Wednesday.

The Guardians’ offense will have their work cut out for them, though. Even though Keuchel and Lambert are not the best of Chicago’s rotation, the White Sox staff ranks seventh in the majors in earned run average at just 3.24.

After having to stay off the field for two days due to weather, the Guardians hope to make it pour offensively on Wednesday and will hope to pick up a couple wins against their division rivals.