MINNESOTA TWINS @ CHICAGO WHITE SOX
Baseball : North America : MLB
Monday, August 29th, 2011, 8:10PM US
(1:10AM GMT)

---

PREVIEW

The White Sox just swept the Seattle Mariners and now welcome the Minnesota Twins for a 3 game series. With Chicago trailing Detroit by 6 games it is important they go for another sweep here because they play the Tigers next in yet another 3 game series that could change things around for them. One step at a time though, and they have an excellent chance to start this series with a win.

Minnesota come into this having won yesterday, 11-4 against the Detroit Tigers. What is worrying is the 7 game losing streak they were on prior to that win, and travelling here to Chicago, who beat them 7-0 in their last meeting, might not be the best place to try to earn a 2nd straight win.

The Twins send out Kevin Slowey to do the pitching, but his 0-2 mark and 6.84ERA make clear this they are not the team worth considering. Slowey has only just come back from 3 months on the DL and in the 2 starts he has made he has been tagged for 11 runs on 16 hits in just over 10 innings of work. Brutal.

Slowey owns a 2-3 career mark against the Chicago White Sox, and while that is not dire, his 6.39ERA suggests that when he has gotten wins, it is not because of his pitching.

The Chicago White Sox send out Mark Buehrle to start the series with a win. The southpaw pitcher is 10-6 with a consistent looking 3.19ERA. Buehrle comes into this having allowed 4 runs in his last outing, against the Angels. He will want to make up for that, and looks well placed to, as his current form has seen him win 4 of his last 5 starts.

Buehrle has done well against Minnesota this season, going 1-1 with a fantastic 0.39ERA in 3 starts. His 23 innings of work against them have seen him give up just 1 earned run and his 3.83 career ERA against the Twins suggests he is reliable in this spot. Buehrle has a 26-19 career record against Minnesota.

TEAM STATS

Minnesota Twins
Overall 56-77, Streak W1

Chicago White Sox
Overall 66-65, Streak W3

BETTING VERDICT

Chicago White Sox for me. The price isn't very high, but it looks a solid bet and I would be surprised to see it lose.

The Pick :

Chicago White Sox

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Take the Chicago White Sox to win @ 1.54 (Pinnacle)