The Chicago White Sox (41-45 SU, -4.71 Units) caught some fire at the end of the first half of the season. They'll start their second half against the Kansas City Royals (52-34 SU, +16.85 Units) in the first game of a doubleheader on Friday.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Robin Ventura has been mum about his pitching rotation for the second half due to the fact that he is waiting to see how Chris Sale comes out of the All-Star Game. What we do know though, is that Jeff Samardzija is going to pitch in one of these two games.
If you parlay the way that Samardzija has pitched in recent games with the way he has pitched at home and the way he has pitched during the day, you'd be hard-pressed to find any reason to bet against him in live betting.
"Shark" went 4-1 at home in the first half with a 2.59 ERA, and he posted a 3.59 ERA during the day, as opposed to a 4.95 ERA at night.
Do keep in mind that Samardzija has a history of pitching deep into games as well. He has seven straight starts which have spanned at least seven innings, and knowing that he is likely going to be a free agent at the end of the year (if he is even a member of the White Sox at the end of the trade deadline), Ventura has no problems getting the most out of him.
Edinson Volquez is the other starter on the mound on Friday for Game 1, and that could be a problem for the Royals.
Volquez has only completed six innings once in his last six starts, which isn't a good sign on a day in which there are two games being played.
The righty has been ridiculously inefficient with his pitches, averaging almost 20 pitches per inning in his last three outings. Not surprisingly, he has a 4.11 ERA in those starts, which doesn't even account for the four unearned runs he allowed as well.
ADVANCED STATS
The White Sox won nine of their last 12 games in the first half of the year to at least think about getting back in the playoff fight, but their offensive numbers haven't suggested that they are legitimately on the right track.
Over the course of that winning streak, Chicago struck out a whopping 22.2 percent of the time, and it had a walk rate of 4.0 percent, second worst in the bigs in that stretch. The team only batted .246 even though it had a very respectable .306 BABIP.
If the Sox aren't going to improve from that, they aren't going to continue to win games, and there will be a lot of zeroes for live bettors to digest hitting the scoreboard.
TALKING BULLPENS
Ned Yost picked both Wade Davis and Kelvin Herrera for the All-Star Game, and he didn't even include arguably his best pitcher in his pen, Greg Holland.
Davis and Herrera are flat out lights out. Holland has had a rough first half at times, getting into a lot of trouble in certain save situations, as demonstrated by his unusually high 1.16 WHIP for the year.
Still, remember that this is just the first game of a doubleheader, and there is a lot of baseball which will have to be accounted for in the late game with Chris Young on the mound as well out of this pen.
That said, when you can throw Davis, Herrera, Franklin Morales and Brandon Finnegan out there in middle relief, you've got a lot of options. We would trust any of these four in live betting situations against this Chicago lineup.
The MLB lines for this Friday contest will first be released by BookMaker Sportsbook. Gamble on the game between every half inning with BookMaker's live betting feature. Along with an adjusted in-game moneyline, you can wager on what will happen in the next at-bat or how many runs will be scored in the next inning. Live betting is the most exciting way to play!
Need to fund your account before the big game but don't have your computer? No problem! BookMaker Sportsbook now offers a mobile betting cashier so you can deposit money directly from your smartphone. Don't miss out on getting paid because you couldn't bet. Click here, and deposit at BookMaker now! The ballgame pitting the Kansas City Royals versus the Chicago White Sox will commence Friday, July 17, 2015 at 2:10 p.m. ET at US Cellular Field in Chicago, IL. You can watch the contest live on the MLB Network.
