MLB Baseball
2012-05-19 - Chicago White Sox at Chicago Cubs
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
United States: Major League Baseball
Saturday 19 May 2012 - First Pitch 7:15pm ET
12:15am (British Standard Time)
Preview
The Inter-League series between these two City rivals started last night as the Chicago White Sox (19-21) secured a 3-2 win over the Chicago Cubs (15-24) and they will be looking to secure a series win before the final game takes place tomorrow.
The first game had a number of storylines, starting with the retirement of Kerry Wood who was given a standing ovation when getting his final strikeout in the 8th inning last night. There was also a bit of tension in the game as Paul Konerko was hit in the head by a pitch from Jeff Samardzija, with Philip Humber throwing behind Bryan LaHair in the next innings.
Konerko suffered a laceration and his status for this game is uncertain. The absence of Konerko would not be helpful for a batting line up that will be facing Ryan Dempster who is 0-1 with a 1.74 ERA this season.
Dempster is coming in off his worst outing of the season as he allowed 4 runs in 6 innings against the St Louis Cardinals. The Cubs toughed out that game and won 6-4, but Dempster is still looking for his first win of the season despite having one of the lowest ERA's in the Major Leagues.
The pitcher is just 2-3 with a 5.09 ERA in 6 stars against the White Sox, but he has impressed at Wrigley Field where has a 1.71 ERA against them in 3 starts.
If Dempster is pitching as well as he has for most of the season, he will be hoping he can get his first win of the season as the Cubs are facing John Danks who is 2-4 with a 6.46 ERA. Danks struggled against the Detroit Tigers in his last outing by allowing 5 runs while not getting out of the 4th innings and he has now allowed at least 5 runs in 3 of his last 4 starts.
He does have a 2-1 record against the Cubs with a 2.88 ERA in four previous starts against them, although he was tagged for 6 runs in 5 innings in his last start against them that resulted in a 6-8 defeat for the White Sox.
Head to Head
The win for the Chicago White Sox last night means they have taken 5 of the last 6 in the series between these teams.
Chicago Cubs are now just 2-6 in their last 8 home games against the White Sox.
The Cubs are 9-13 at home this season, the White Sox are 12-9 on the road.
Prediction
The Chicago Cubs bullpen has really let them down this season, but I think they have a real edge at the starting pitching duel and that could lead them to win this game and tie the series at 1-1.
Ryan Dempster has been pitching well all season, while John Danks has been struggling, especially in his last few outings. Danks has also been well tagged here by the Cubs, while Dempster has held the White Sox at Wrigley Field.
The absence of Paul Konerko could also be huge for the White Sox that may have a little trouble generating prolonged innings.
The Cubs have also been swinging their bats a little more consistently in recent games and I think they are worth a small interest in winning this by a couple of runs at the very least.
The Pick :
Chicago Cubs 6-3 Chicago White Sox
