Cleveland Guardians vs. Chicago White Sox Betting Preview May 9

Cleveland Guardians vs. Chicago White Sox Betting Preview May 9

Ayden Fahlstrom
2 years ago
3 min read
Cleveland Guardians shortstop Andres Gimenez steals second vs. the Chicago White Sox

Monday night features a battle of the AL Central as the Cleveland Guardians (14-14) square off with the Chicago White Sox (14-13). The White Sox will host this one at Guaranteed Rate Field, with the first pitch scheduled for 8:10 p.m.

Over the weekend, the Guardians were able to take three of four from the Toronto Blue Jays, including a 4-3 win on Sunday. In the victory, Brian Shaw picked up the win in relief.

Offensively, Owen Miller hit his third home run of the season while Jose Ramirez hit a triple with a run scored and run batted in.

The White Sox have been on a roll lately, winning seven of their last 10. After sweeping the Red Sox over the weekend, they have now won six in a row. On Sunday, they won 3-2 over Boston.

Betting Odds

The White Sox are the favorites playing at home. They are -184 to win while the Guardians’ moneyline sits at +154. The runline features Cleveland +1.5 (-150), and the over/under for total runs is 7.5.

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Pitching Matchup

Cleveland will send righty Zach Plesac (1-3, 4.44 ERA) to the mound for the opener. In his last start, Plesac took the loss against San Diego after giving up four earned runs in five innings.

The White Sox will counter with righty Michael Kopech. This season, Kopech is 0-0 in five games with a 1.17 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and has 23 strikeouts in 23 innings pitched.

By The Numbers

Offensively, the Guardians hold the advantage. They rank fourth in the majors in runs per game at 4.74 (4.88 on the road). The White Sox rank 28th, averaging 3.31 runs (3.15 at home).

The White Sox hold the advantage on the defensive side. They rank 10th overall, allowing an average of 3.85 runs per game to opponents (3.77 at home). The Guardians rank 23rd, allowing 4.41 runs per game (4.56 on the road).

Cleveland Trying To Move Into Second In AL Central

At 14-14, the Guardians currently sit just half a game behind the White Sox for second place in the AL Central. On Monday, they will try to leapfrog Chicago and inch closer to the division-leading Twins.

The Guardians’ experience against Michael Kopech is limited as they are combined 7 for 22 off of the righty. Oscar Mercado has the most success as he is two for three off of Kopech.

Jose Ramirez leads Cleveland’s offense overall. In 103 at bats, the third baseman is hitting .311/.410/.631 with seven home runs, 30 runs batted in, 16 runs scored, and three stolen bases.

White Sox Trying To Live Up To Preseason Expectations

After winning the AL Central by 13 games in 2021, most pundits expected the White Sox to once again roll over the AL Central in 2022. After a slow start to the season, though, the White Sox are trying to once again live up to the lofty preseason expectations. Currently, they are still the favorite to win the division at -115.

The most productive player on the White Sox to date has been shortstop Tim Anderson. He is hitting .337/.365/.522 with four home runs, nine runs batted in, 15 runs scored, and four stolen bases in 92 at bats.

Even though he is hitting just .190 off of Zach Plesac, Anderson does have two solo home runs off of the righty.

Jose Abreu has also hit a home run off of Plesac in his career, while Leury Garcia is hitting .333 and Luis Robert is hitting .538 off of him.

Guardians Trying To Prove They Belong

Even though it is early in the season, this is a big series for the Guardians. After Chicago ran away with the division last season, this series serves as a measuring stick for the Guardians to see if they can contend with the best.

It won’t be easy for Cleveland as the White Sox have been playing phenomenal ball as of late. Still, Cleveland’s offense has certainly impressed in the early going, and their pitching staff has the potential to keep them in any game.

It won’t be easy, but if Plesac can contain the White Sox offense, the Guardians have the opportunity to steal the first game of this series on the road.

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