Chicago White Sox vs Kansas City Royals MLB Odds, Betting Preview 9/12/18

Wednesday evening MLB action and a pair of teams from the American League Central will square off as the Chicago White Sox grapple with the Kansas City Royals. This is the final game of a three-game series from Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. It has a start time of 8:15 PM ET. The Royals have taken the first two games of this series.

Lines: Chicago -127… Kansas City +117  … Over/Under 9

Pitching Matchup

Taking the hill for the White Sox will be Carlos Rodon and he has gone 6-5 with a 3.11 ERA in 16 starts on the year, including 3-3 with a 3.51 ERA in eight starts on the road. In his career, he has gone 11-13 with a 3.68 ERA in 40 games (38 starts) on the road and 7-5 with a 3.82 ERA in 13 starts during Sept/ Oct. Rodon is 2-2 with a 3.90 ERA in five career starts against the Royals, including 0-1 with a 7.00 ERA in two starts here at Kauffman Stadium.

The Royals will trot out Eric Skoglund and he has gone 1-5 with a 6.45 ERA in 10 games (nine starts) on the year, including 1-3 with a 5.90 ERA in five starts here at home. In his career, he has gone 2-4 with a 5.66 ERA in nine games (eight starts) here at Kauffman Stadium and 0-0 with a 6.00 ERA in four games (one starts) during Sept/ Oct. Skoglund is 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA in two career starts against the White Sox.   

A Look At The White Sox

The White Sox have really been struggling of late as they come in having lost their last seven games in a row, including the first two games of this series. The White Sox are now 33 games under .500 for the year and 26 games out of first in the American League Central. It has just been another lost year for the White Sox, but they do have a bright future as their farm system is loaded with young talent. Their offense has really struggled of late as they have averaged just 2.14 rpg over their last seven games. The Pitching hasn’t been a whole lot better as they have allowed 6.57 rpg during their losing skid.

They fell to the Royals on Tuesday night by a score of 6-3 and taking the loss in the game was Dylan Covey. He allowed six runs (five earned) on six hits and three walks in 4.1 innings of work. Covey has had a miserable year as he is now 5-13 with a 5.64 ERA on the year. Tim Anderson, Avisail Garcia, and Yoan Moncada each had RBIs in the loss. The White Sox have gone 28-42 and they have averaged 4.23 rpg and have allowed 5.47 rpg in those games.

A Look At The Royals

The Kansas City Royals have the 2nd worst record in the league, but they have been playing a bit better at home this year. They have taken the first two games in this series and have now won their last seven games in a row and 10 of their last 11 here at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals are now 27-45 here at home for the year, compared to 22-50 on the road. The Royals have outscored their foes 48-17 during their seven-game home winning streak. They will look to keep it going in this one against a Chicago team that has really struggled of late.   

The Royals took game two of this series by a score of 6-3 and leading their attack in the game was Hunter Dozier, who had two RBIs, while Whit Merrifield and Adalberto Mondesi each had a pair of hits and an RBI. Brad Keller has been a bright spot for the Royals this year and he had another solid start. He allowed just one ERs on four hits and two walks while striking out six in 7.0 innings of work. He is now 8-6 with a 3.04 ERA on the year, including 4-1 with a 1.85 ERA in his last six starts. The Royals have averaged 3.93 rpg and have allowed 5.26 rpg here at home for the year.  

Trends

The White Sox are:

5-1 in their last 6 road games vs. a left-handed starter.

11-5 in their last 16 road games.

0-7 in their last 7 games on grass

The Over is 17-5 in their last 22 during game 3 of a series

The Under is 5-1 in their last 6 games vs. a left-handed starter

The Royals are:

10-1 in their last 11 home games.

7-1 in their last 8 after scoring 5 runs or more in their previous game

7-21 in their last 28 games vs. a left-handed starter

The Under is 6-2-2 in their last 10 games vs. a left-handed starter.

The Over is 6-2 in their last 8 during game 3 of a series