The South Side Dogs Sniff a Result Up North

Published on 2-Sep-2014 by Steve Soprano

MLB    MLB Daily Stake

Share this article


The South Side Dogs Sniff a Result Up North

After five straight days of football, we'll take a break until Thursday, when Week 2 of the college campaign begins, along with the opening game of the NFL season.  

But if we're picking winners, it shouldn't matter what the sport. Right?  

So let's go back to the diamond, because I think there's a nice underdog worth taking a look at today.

That's when the Chicago White Sox open a three-game series at Target Field against the Minnesota Twins. Bovada has the White Sox at +110, and I think they're a dog well worth backing.

First of all, the game features two starting pitchers heading in opposite directions. While the overall numbers for Chicago's Hector Noesi won't raise any eyebrows (8-9; 4.75 ERA), lately, he's been much better. In his last five starts, the righty is 3-1 with a 3.24 ERA. He's also pitched into the seventh inning in four of those five outings. Here's his last outing:

If you take a look at Noesi's recent form against the Twins by using the Bovada data tool on the Home page, you'll see similar success. He's gone into the seventh inning in both of his starts against Minnesota this season and has a win and a no-decision to show for it.

White Sox v Twins

Then there's Tommy Milone (6-4, 4.21 ERA) of the Twins, who seems to have had the wind taken out of his sails since being traded to Minnesota from Oakland a few weeks ago. Well, he asked to be dealt. What did he expect? The southpaw has gone 0-1 with an ERA of 7.94 since getting shipped from a first place team to one in last.  

Take a look at his last three starts as displayed on the data tool and notice that while two of them were wins for the Twinkies, you can't say Milone played a terribly significant role. He hasn't made it through the sixth inning in any of those starts and couldn't make it through the second inning three starts ago.

One other note: while the Twins were playing in Baltimore yesterday afternoon and then flying back home right after the game, the White Sox had Monday off and should be well rested come the first pitch tonight. And that's yet another factor making the ChiSox a great dog to back, as the dog days of summer wind down.

My pick:  Chicago White Sox     +110

---

ResultChicago White Sox 6 Minnesota 3 (10 innings)     White Sox cover

Follow me on Twitter @SopranoSteve

Football pick packages are available now. Call 512-937-3099 for details!

 

Click on a photo to enlarge.