The White Sox are clinging to first in the AL Central, and the Red Sox roll into Chicago having won 3 straight, looking to make things a lot messier on the South Side.
Bush’s PicksPicks madeJul 7, 4:12 AM CT
-119BOSCWS+110
+138BOS -1.5CWS +1.5-153
-104-105Over 8.5Under 8.5-107
Best BetWhite Sox +110
Chicago's priced as the moneyline favorite here, and it lines up with the roster gap: Boston is missing four rotation arms and multiple regulars, while the White Sox are the ones sitting in first place. Boston's 3-game win streak is real, but it came against a bad Angels team, not this level of competition. Lay the price and back the home club.
Red Sox
+Won 3 straight, swept Angels by 20-8 combined
+Tolle has a 3.39 ERA, ROY-caliber season
−Rotation gutted: Crochet, Houck, Oviedo, Crawford all out
−Lost 3 straight before flipping the Cleveland series
Payton Tolle (4-6, 3.39 ERA) has been the best story in Boston's rotation all year and a legit Rookie of the Year name, but his last time out was ugly: 6 earned runs in just 3 innings against Washington. Noah Schultz (2-5, 5.86 ERA), Chicago's 6-foot-11 rookie lefty, is coming off his own wild ride — he no-hit Baltimore into the 5th inning before it fell apart, finishing with 3 earned runs over 4.1 innings. Two talented rookies both trying to put a bad start behind them at 6:40 PM CT first pitch.
Boston shows up banged up in basically every direction. Garrett Crochet, Tanner Houck, Johan Oviedo and Kutter Crawford are all out of the rotation, Roman Anthony and Triston Casas are shelved on the position-player side, and Ranger Suarez just left his last start early with adductor tightness. Chicago has its own injury list, but nothing that's kept the lineup from staying afloat, and the market treats it accordingly — Chicago's the home favorite here.
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BOS Red Sox
CWS White Sox
The White Sox didn't get to first place by accident, either. After dropping 3 straight to open last week, they answered by taking 2 of 3 from a Cleveland team fighting them for the division, including a 7-6 slugfest to close the set. That's the version of this team showing up tonight, for better or worse given how shaky Schultz has looked.
Boston Red Sox
Chicago White Sox
Recent form.
Boston's turnaround looks almost as sudden. After getting outscored 3-18 in back-to-back losses to Washington, the Red Sox went into Anaheim and swept the Angels by a combined 20-8, with the offense finally clicking in a way it hadn't in weeks. The question is whether that carries over against a deeper Chicago lineup, or if it was just an Angels-shaped mirage.
Boston Red Sox
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Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Chicago White Sox
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Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
With Boston's pitching depth this thin and Chicago holding the better record and the better spot on the schedule, the White Sox are the more complete team walking in — even with a rookie starter who still has plenty to prove.
