The final games of the first half of the season will be played on Sunday, when the Pittsburgh Pirates (47-48, 3rd NL Central) take on the Chicago White Sox (27-70, 5th AL Central). Pittsburgh won the first two games of this series, 4-1 on Friday and 6-2 on Saturday. This is the only series played this season between these two teams. The Pirates will start Mitch Keller (3.40 ERA) and the White Sox will send Chad Kuhl (4.15 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 2:10 p.m. EST from Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago.
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Pittsburgh finishes strong
The Pittsburgh Pirates appear to have gotten a boost from the midseason call-up of pitcher Paul Skenes. He won’t play in this game, as he was named the All-Star starter, but the Pirates continue to ride a wave of positive momentum. The Pirates have won five of their last six games heading into this game, winning a series against the Brewers, then taking the first two against Chicago in this game. The Pirates are 2.5 games out of the final wild-card spot. In Saturday’s game, Bryan Reynolds had four RBIs in the 6-2 win.
Reynolds will also be in the All-Star game and is Pittsburgh’s leading hitter in five offensive categories. He has 17 home runs, 60 RBIs, 108 hits and has the best batting average at .281 and OBP at .342. Reynolds plays left field and hits second in the lineup. Oneil Cruz hits third in the lineup as a shortstop, he has 14 home runs on the season while adding 43 RBIs. Cruz is batting .244 this year. Their leadoff hitter is Andrew McCutchen, he moved from the outfield to the designated hitter position with 12 home runs and 25 RBIs while hitting .227. Rowdy Tellez hits as a first baseman, he has eight home runs and 30 RBIs with a .246 average.
Mitch Keller will make his 19th start of the season in this game. He is a 28-year-old right-hander with a 10-5 record, and the team is 3-2 in his last five starts. He has 102 strikeouts and 27 walks, with 11 home runs allowed this year. In his last start, Keller pitched eight innings, allowing just two runs in a win over the Mets.
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The White Sox have the worst record in the league
Someone has to have the worst record in baseball, and the Chicago White Sox hold that dubious honor heading into the All-Star break. The White Sox have just 27 wins, the second-lowest win total of the season belongs to the Marlins at 32. They have lost their last three games heading into this matchup and have scored just three runs in the two games of this series. In Saturday’s game, Luis Robert Jr. hit a walk-off single in the sixth inning, but the team still lost 6-2.
Robert Jr. is their center fielder and hit third in the lineup against Pittsburgh. He has 11 home runs and 23 RBIs and leads the team with 10 stolen bases. Robert Jr. has accumulated these stats despite only playing in 42 of Chicago’s 97 games this season. Chicago does not have any position players in the All-Star game, as Garrett Crochet is their only selection, and he will not pitch in this game. Paul DeJong has the most home runs on the team with 16, is their shortstop and hits eight in the lineup. He has 37 RBIs and is batting .229. Andrew Vaughn leads the team with 43 RBIs and has the team’s best batting average among qualified hitters at .237. Vaughn is their first baseman who hit fifth in the lineup against Pittsburgh.
Chad Kuhl will be making just his second start of the season, but he has already appeared in five other relief games. His ERA is 4.15 and he hasn’t started since a June 27 game against Atlanta. In that game, Kuhl pitched just three innings before being pulled, meaning this will be a bullpen game that will feature several different Pittsburgh pitchers.
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Best Bets for Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Chicago White Sox
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This is not the game to try to capitalize on an upset. The White Sox have the worst record in baseball, they have a very inexperienced reliever and they are facing a Pittsburgh team that has won five of its last six. Chad Kuhl has pitched just 17 innings this season and will likely pitch only three more here, as Chicago will be using its bullpen heavily in this game. Chicago is just 26th in the league in earned run average, so they will struggle no matter who they put on the mound. Pittsburgh has Mitch Keller, who has been a solid starter for the team all season. Keller is 10-5, and has pitched just eight innings against the red-hot Mets and allowed just two runs in a win. The White Sox don’t have a single All-Star in their lineup and won’t be able to stay tight because they gave up too many runs to the Pirates in this game.
Take the Pirates on the racing line.
Prediction: Pittsburgh -1.5 (-125)
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The first two games of this series have gone under, and so has Game 3. Keller is a solid pitcher for the Pirates, with 102 strikeouts and just 27 walks, and he’s going to hold his own against this Chicago team. The White Sox have scored just three runs in total through the first two games, which isn’t surprising since they’re dead last in the league in RBI by a wide margin. They’ve only scored 307 runs this season, and the Marlins are second lowest by 20 more at 327. The Pirates are just 22nd in RBI, so while this is a bullpen game for Chicago, the Pirates aren’t a team that consistently puts up big numbers. Chicago has gone under in six of their last eight games, and this game will continue that trend.
Take the bottom.
Prediction: Less than