The Chicago White Sox (59-40) and Kansas City Royals (42-55) swing into a four-game AL Central set at Kauffman Stadium Monday with an 8:10 p.m. ET first pitch. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook‘s lines around the White Sox vs. Royals odds with MLB picks and predictions.
LHP Dallas Keuchel is the projected starting pitcher for the White Sox. He is 7-3 with a 4.22 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 5.6 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 over 102 1/3 IP spanning 18 starts.
The veteran southpaw has a nice career line against current K.C. batters. Keuchel has held current Royals hitter to a .548 aggregate OPS. Recent road turns have been a bit messy, though, and on the year the Sox hurler has posted a 4.73 ERA, 1.53 WHIP away from home.
LHP Mike Minor is the projected starting pitcher for the Royals. Through 20 starts, he is 7-8 with a 5.45 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 8.7 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 across 112 1/3 IP.
Minor also has a good matchup history on which to bank. He has held current White Sox hitters to a .627 OPS in past meetings. Minor has had some mid-summer struggles with a 10.80 ERA over four starts from June 25-July 10, but he is coming off a solid start last Tuesday against the Milwaukee Brewers with 1 ER over 6 IP.
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White Sox at Royals odds, lines, picks and prediction
MLB odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated at 2:50 p.m. ET.
- Money line: White Sox -135 (bet $135 to win $100) | Royals +110 (bet $100 to win $110)
- Against the spread/ATS: White Sox -1.5 (+115) | Royals +1.5 (-140)
- Over/Under: 9.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)
Prediction
Royals 6, White Sox 4
Money line (ML)
The White Sox were 10-3 over their last 13 games of the first half, but the AL Central leaders are just 5-5 in the second half. Chicago scored just 5 runs in a three-game road series against the Brewers over the weekend.
The host Royals endured a rough pre- and post-break stretch that saw them go 4-17 from June 23-July 18. Kansas City is 5-0 with an .805 team OPS since.
Minor has been undone by an ultra-low 63.4% strand rate when runners are on base. His recent effort and the conflicting team trends make for KANSAS CITY (+110) being a decent play on the money line.
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Run line/Against the spread (ATS)
The run line is worth a watch. The Royals at -135 would be worth a play, perhaps in conjunction with the above money line action.
PASS.
Over/Under (O/U)
PASS on the current prices. An evenly-priced (-110) 9.5-run total would be worth a look on the Over.
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