The Chicago White Sox (21-30) and Detroit Tigers (22-25) meet Thursday to open a 4-game series at Comerica Park. First pitch is slated for 6:40 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze FanDuel Sportsbook’s lines around the White Sox vs. Tigers odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: First meeting; Chicago won last year’s series 12-7
The White Sox opened a 7-game road trip by taking 2 of 3 games at the Cleveland Guardians. Chicago is 5-1 over its last 6 games, thanks in large part to a 1.36 ERA and 0.75 WHIP its pitchers have recorded over that span.
Detroit took 2 of 3 contests from the Kansas City Royals in a Monday-Wednesday set in K.C. The Tigers have batted just .215 with runners in scoring position (RISP), but that’s alongside a .255 batting average on balls in play (BABIP), so they’re a group that might be able to climb out of MLB’s bottom-5 in scoring (3.66 runs per game, 27th) with some normalized results.
White Sox at Tigers projected starters
RHP Lucas Giolito vs. RHP Alex Faedo
Giolito (3-3, 3.62 ERA) makes his 11th start. He has a 1.12 WHIP, 1.8 BB/9 and 9.1 K/9 through 59 2/3 IP.
- Has registered a 2.66 ERA and 0.97 WHIP over his last 8 starts
- Facing a Tigers club that has scuffled against right-handed pitching (.643 OPS)
Faedo (0-2, 4.60 ERA) makes his 4th start. He has a 0.83 WHIP, 0.6 BB/9 and 6.9 K/9 through 15 2/3 IP.
- The 27-year-old sophomore joined the rotation May 7; made 12 starts as a rookie in 2022
- Has been struggling with home runs (5 in 15 2/3 IP)
White Sox at Tigers odds
Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:03 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline: White Sox -142 (bet $142 to win $100) | Tigers +120 (bet $100 to win $120)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): White Sox -1.5 (+115) | Tigers +1.5 (-138)
- Over/Under (O/U): 8.5 (O: -104 | U: -118)
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White Sox at Tigers picks and predictions
Prediction
White Sox 4, Tigers 3
Moneyline
Chicago had a tough opening month with a difficult schedule and may be better than we think. A 12-10 record against .500-and-below foes corroborates that thought.
Detroit is 8-4 in 1-run games — usually a regression indicator when out of whack with overall win percentage — and its bullpen could use an off day. The ChiSox ‘pen has done well in getting ground balls while avoiding hard contact and its .317 BABIP and large rate of flies landing as home runs (15.1%) are indicators that its surface ERA (5.19) is headed for better days.
Giolito and that bullpen facing a Detroit offense that struggles vs. right-handed pitchers give Chicago a should-be win percentage around the 60% level. Consider a partial-unit play on the WHITE SOX (-142). Go in full at -140 or better.
Run line/Against the spread
Chicago’s offense has a .652 OPS since May 10 and has not earned the trust to work this play through on the run line. PASS.
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Over/Under
Both sides have runs scored and allowed figures that could well be fluctuating forward and backward with some expected regression. The number here is not one to be picked apart with analytics. PASS.
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