White Sox in Must-Win Versus Minnesota Twins
It's now or never for Ozzie Guillen's guys. Chicago will have Gavin Floyd on the hill in a near pick 'em on the MLB odds board tonight versus the Twins' Brian Duensing.
Assuming Mother Nature cooperates, a baseball game that is crucial to the postseason will be played on Chicago's South Side where the White Sox will host the Minnesota Twins for the second battle of a three-game set. Forecasts are calling for a strong possibility of showers in the Second City area during the early evening, turning to steady rain overnight.
Tonight's game is critical because it's Chicago's last shot at the playoffs. Don't tell me about mathematical possibilities and the rest of that mumbo-jumbo. If the White Sox intend to catch the Twins in the AL Central, they have to take two of three in this series. After losing the opener on Tuesday, 9-3, that means winning tonight and tomorrow.
The Twins rolled to the 9-3 win as small underdogs in Tuesday's match. Chicago held a tenuous 3-2 lead through six innings, but Minnesota busted the game wide open with two in the seventh and five in the eighth. John Danks, the starter and loser for Chicago, was facing the Twins for a sixth time this season while Francisco Liriano was going against the ChiSox a fifth time.
The victory moved Minnesota to 11-5 versus Chicago this campaign, and gave the Twins a seven-game cushion in the division with 18 games to play.
Game 2 is a wash according to the opening numbers offshore. BetJamaica opened the game level, TheGreek.com and Pinnacle each giving a small early edge to the home team. Wednesday's total found the books thinking 5-3 ChiSox win. TheGreek went with eight, 'over' minus 125, while BetJam and Bookmaker went 8½, 'under' minus 115.
Wednesday's mound matchup finds Brian Duensing (6-3, 2.02) going for the Twins against Chicago's Gavin Floyd (13-16, 3.91). Duensing will be making his first start against the White Sox this season after four relief appearances; Floyd gets his fourth stab at Minnesota this campaign.
The previous three starts Floyd has made against the Twins have all ended in White Sox defeats. Included in those outings were a pair of brutal, back-to-back starts in mid-August when the right-hander worked a combined 12 innings and allowed 13 runs, all earned. He was a 120 MLB odds favorite at home on Aug 12, a 6-1 loss, and priced as a 135 underdog six days later in Minnesota when the Twins held on for a 7-6 triumph.
Floyd is coming off a pounding in Detroit last Thursday when the Tigers stroked 13 hits over his six innings of work, scoring all of their runs in a 6-3 victory on a plus 110 money line. It's been a case of Floyd either being very good – 1.59 ERA in his 18 quality starts – or very ugly (5.28 ERA in 11 other starts).
Duensing's four relief outings versus Chicago this season have totaled seven innings with just a single earned run allowed. That lone run came during a four-inning stint out of the pen on July 18, a game the Twins won 7-6 with a four-run rally in the bottom of the ninth off White Sox closer Bobby Jenks. Duensing picked up the win in that contest which closed as a pick 'em.
Chris Guccione should have the plate for this one, bringing a flat 15-14-1 'under' mark into the game. He has favored home teams, 18-12, but small home faves are just 2-6.
Wind could play a role in Wednesday's outcome even if the rain doesn't hamper the game. The forecast is for SSE winds in the 12-20 mph range, with that wind in the face of batters as it blows in from right-center field.
The finale of the series is Thursday, with SBR's Bob Harvey bringing you the preview that will find veteran hurlers Carl Pavano (17-12, 3.47) and Mark Buehrle (18-11, 3.99) on the mound.
NOTE: W-L records displayed for starting pitchers are team records in games the pitchers start.
It's now or never for Ozzie Guillen's guys. Chicago will have Gavin Floyd on the hill in a near pick 'em on the MLB odds board tonight versus the Twins' Brian Duensing.
Assuming Mother Nature cooperates, a baseball game that is crucial to the postseason will be played on Chicago's South Side where the White Sox will host the Minnesota Twins for the second battle of a three-game set. Forecasts are calling for a strong possibility of showers in the Second City area during the early evening, turning to steady rain overnight.
Tonight's game is critical because it's Chicago's last shot at the playoffs. Don't tell me about mathematical possibilities and the rest of that mumbo-jumbo. If the White Sox intend to catch the Twins in the AL Central, they have to take two of three in this series. After losing the opener on Tuesday, 9-3, that means winning tonight and tomorrow.
The Twins rolled to the 9-3 win as small underdogs in Tuesday's match. Chicago held a tenuous 3-2 lead through six innings, but Minnesota busted the game wide open with two in the seventh and five in the eighth. John Danks, the starter and loser for Chicago, was facing the Twins for a sixth time this season while Francisco Liriano was going against the ChiSox a fifth time.
The victory moved Minnesota to 11-5 versus Chicago this campaign, and gave the Twins a seven-game cushion in the division with 18 games to play.
Game 2 is a wash according to the opening numbers offshore. BetJamaica opened the game level, TheGreek.com and Pinnacle each giving a small early edge to the home team. Wednesday's total found the books thinking 5-3 ChiSox win. TheGreek went with eight, 'over' minus 125, while BetJam and Bookmaker went 8½, 'under' minus 115.
Wednesday's mound matchup finds Brian Duensing (6-3, 2.02) going for the Twins against Chicago's Gavin Floyd (13-16, 3.91). Duensing will be making his first start against the White Sox this season after four relief appearances; Floyd gets his fourth stab at Minnesota this campaign.
The previous three starts Floyd has made against the Twins have all ended in White Sox defeats. Included in those outings were a pair of brutal, back-to-back starts in mid-August when the right-hander worked a combined 12 innings and allowed 13 runs, all earned. He was a 120 MLB odds favorite at home on Aug 12, a 6-1 loss, and priced as a 135 underdog six days later in Minnesota when the Twins held on for a 7-6 triumph.
Floyd is coming off a pounding in Detroit last Thursday when the Tigers stroked 13 hits over his six innings of work, scoring all of their runs in a 6-3 victory on a plus 110 money line. It's been a case of Floyd either being very good – 1.59 ERA in his 18 quality starts – or very ugly (5.28 ERA in 11 other starts).
Duensing's four relief outings versus Chicago this season have totaled seven innings with just a single earned run allowed. That lone run came during a four-inning stint out of the pen on July 18, a game the Twins won 7-6 with a four-run rally in the bottom of the ninth off White Sox closer Bobby Jenks. Duensing picked up the win in that contest which closed as a pick 'em.
Chris Guccione should have the plate for this one, bringing a flat 15-14-1 'under' mark into the game. He has favored home teams, 18-12, but small home faves are just 2-6.
Wind could play a role in Wednesday's outcome even if the rain doesn't hamper the game. The forecast is for SSE winds in the 12-20 mph range, with that wind in the face of batters as it blows in from right-center field.
The finale of the series is Thursday, with SBR's Bob Harvey bringing you the preview that will find veteran hurlers Carl Pavano (17-12, 3.47) and Mark Buehrle (18-11, 3.99) on the mound.
NOTE: W-L records displayed for starting pitchers are team records in games the pitchers start.
