The Chicago White Sox are -200 road favorites to defeat the Chicago Cubs in inter-league play on Saturday afternoon at Wrigley Field
Chicago’s American League team has won five of its last seven games played at Chicago’s National League park
Read below for odds, analysis and a betting prediction
The friendly confines of Wrigley Field continue to prove both welcoming and accommodating to the Chicago White Sox. They beat the Chicago Cubs there again on Friday.
An 8-6 10-inning victory was the fifth for the ChiSox in their last seven visits to Wrigley. And the South Siders are favored to do it again on Saturday.
The visiting White Sox are -200 favorites to beat the Cubs in an afternoon game at Wrigley. The ChiSox are 7-3 in their last 10 games as a road favorite.
White Sox vs Cubs Odds
| Team | Moneyline | Runline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago White Sox | -200 | OFF | OFF |
| Chicago Cubs | +170 | OFF | OFF |
Odds as of August 6th at DraftKings.
Saturday’s first pitch is slated for 2:20 pm ET. Cloudy skies are in the forecast along with 1 mph winds and a temperature of 84 degrees.
Rodon vs Alzolay
Carlos Rodon
VS
Adbert Alzolay
| 8-5 | Record | 4-11 |
| 2.49 | ERA | 4.85 |
| 2.65 | xERA | 4.84 |
| 0.96 | WHIP | 1.18 |
| 3.19 | SO/W Ratio | 5.32 |
White Sox lefty Carlos Rodon has seen his velocity dip over the course of his last two starts and it shows. He’s worked a season-low four innings in each start, taking the loss both times.
Rodon has given up 12 hits and eight runs, six earned. He’s served up four home runs. In his previous seven starts he’d given up one long ball.
Since opening the season 5-0, including a no-hitter against Cleveland, Rodon is 3-5. He’s 5-2 on the road this season with a 2.41 ERA. Rodon’s ERA in day games is 3.51, compared to 1.84 in night games.
Rodon is among the top 5% in strikeout percentage (35.2), the top 6% in MLB in xERA (2.65) and xWOBA (.252), the top 7% in xBA (.185), and the top 9% in WOBA (.253).
As much as Rodon is struggling, Cubs right-hander Adbert Alzolay’s season has gone completely off the rails. He’s winless since June 7.
Alzolay is 0-7 over his last nine starts. His ERA has jumped from 3.62 to 4.85 over the course of those nine starts. The righty has allowed four runs on five occasions and three runs three other times during those last nine starts.
He’s also served up five homers in his last three starts. Alzolay has proven to be better at home (3-4, 4.50 ERA) than on the road (1-7, 5.06 ERA). He’s also better during the day (2-2, 4.08 ERA) than at night (2-9, 5.29 ERA).
Alzolay will be facing the White Sox for the first time.
Batting Average vs Starting Pitchers
| Cubs Batters | Batting Average vs Rodon | White Sox Batters | Batting Average vs Alzolay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sergio Alcantara | .000 | Jose Abreu | .000 |
| David Bote | .500 | Tim Anderson | .000 |
| Robinson Chirinos | .500 | Zack Collins | .000 |
| Wilson Contreras | .400 | Adam Engel | .500 |
| Greg Deichmann | .000 | Leury Garcia | .000 |
| Matt Duffy | .500 | Brian Goodwin | 1.000 |
| Johneshwy Fargas | .000 | Cesar Hernandez | .200 |
| Ian Happ | .333 | Eloy Jimenez | .200 |
| Rafael Ortega | .000 | Jake Lamb | .100 |
| Andrew Romine | .333 | Yoan Moncada | .000 |
| Frank Schwindel | .000 | Gavin Sheets | .000 |
| Patrick Wisdom | .000 | Andrew Vaughn | .000 |
White Sox outfielder Adam Engel is 1-for-2 when facing Alzolay. That one hit was a solo homer. Second baseman Cesar Hernandez is only batting .200 (1-for-5) against Alzolay. However, that one hit was a homer. Hernandez has driven in two runs.
Outfielder Brian Goodwin, whose two-run homer in the 10th was the decisive blow in Friday’s win, is batting 1.000 (1-for-1) when facing Alzolay.
Cubs catcher Wilson Contreras is 2-for-5 (.400) against Rodon, with a homer and three RBI. Infielders Andrew Romine, David Bote and Matt Duffy are all 1-for-3 (.333). Catcher Robinson Chirinos is 1-for-2 (.500) with three RBI.
White Sox vs Cubs Pick
The Cubs dealt away four of their top five hitters at the MLB trade deadline. Then they lost their #2 hitter among the remaining players when they placed outfielder Jason Heyward (inflammation in his left index finger) on the 10-day injured list.
Facing a White Sox pitching staff that’s seventh in the majors with a 3.66 ERA, that’s not a combination that adds up to success for the Cubbies.
Pick: Chicago White Sox (-200).