Chicago White Sox vs. Cincinnati Reds Prediction and Pick
Chicago White Sox vs. Cincinnati Reds Prediction and Pick
First Pitch: 8:10 p.m. ET
Probable Pitchers: Riley O’Brien (0-0, -.-- ERA) vs. Reynaldo Lopez (3-3, 3.16 ERA)
Chicago White Sox vs. Cincinnati Reds Prediction
Chicago White Sox vs. Cincinnati Reds Odds
What the? How is the total only 9 here?
Aside from the curious pitching matchup, these two offenses can slug. And one of the starting pitchers involved, O’Brien — who is not a big-time prospect or anything — will be making his Major League debut.
This, of course, is typically one of the toughest variables in sports betting to gather a feel on. In the case of O’Brien, though, I can’t say I’m impressed at all.
This year, the former eighth-round draft pick has constructed middling-at-best numbers in his 23 games (22 starts) at Triple-A Louisville, pitching to a 4.55 ERA.
O’Brien’s tendency to collect strikeouts is worthwhile (9.67 K/9), but his WHIP (1.31) and walk rate (11.2 percent) are not. Then factor in, he has to figure out the tough White Sox batting order, a group that’s most certainly among the best in the league and one that doesn’t K a lot, either.
Oh, and this will be further unique as O’Brien’s first assignment seeing how it’ll be taking place from an American League park. On top of that, O’Brien will be pitted against a hard-hitting offense that especially rakes in front of the hometown fans, ranking in the top 10 among all 30 clubs in team OPS (.784) and batting average (.259) at home. So, to say the least, this isn’t an ideal spot to make your debut.
Additionally, O’Brien doesn’t figure to last long in this game, meaning there will be plenty of innings to cover for a bullpen that’s churned out an undesirable 4.87 ERA to rank 26th in the Major Leagues.
There’s also Lopez involved in the series opener, and as much as I like him and have enjoyed crafting somewhat of a renaissance in 2021, he, too, can make useful contributions toward a high score.
Lopez enjoyed notable success upon getting the chance to make some starts again, but after that nice stretch, he appears to be reverting back to inconsistent form. The 27-year-old surrendered 15 runs (12 earned) across his last four starts, notching more than four innings only once within that span.
Obviously, Chicago sports one of the best pens around, but the thought process is that if Cincy can scratch out even just a few runs off Lopez, that White Sox lineup is more than capable of providing the rest.
Chicago White Sox vs. Cincinnati Reds Pick
Leans
Indians-Royals Under 9Padres-Dodgers Under 8
2021 MLB Over/Under Betting Record*: “85-72-10,” +4.43 units
Last Result: White Sox-Indians Under 8.5 (WIN)
*Each bet graded as if it were to win 1 unit