Wednesday, July 23, 2014, 2:10 PM on WGN

U.S. Cellular Field, Chicago, Illinois

Kansas City Royals - Shields, J (9-5) vs. Chicago White Sox - Quintana, J (5-7)

For Updated Odds on This Game Click Here

Wednesday afternoon, James Shields gets the call for the Kansas City Royals as they go up against Jose Quintana and the Chicago White Sox. It will be the 22^nd start for Shields and the 21^st for Quintana.

James Shields pitched to a no-decision his last time out and that held his record at 9 - 5 with a 3.70 ERA. In that outing, Shields gave up 4 runs and 8 hits (including a homer) in 5.2 innings as he walked a batter and struck out 3. Shields has been pitching well but he is throwing a lot pitches per start. He is averaging 107.2 pitches per start, which is close to last year's average of 107.6. But if he can match 2013's record of 13 - 9 with a 3.15 ERA in 34 starts, the pitch count won't seem so bad.

Last season, Shields was 2 -1 with a 2.03 ERA in 6 starts against the White Sox. This season, he is 1 - 1 in 2 starts against Chicago.

Jose Quintana pitched to his 3^rd straight no-decision in his last outing and his record is stuck at 5 -7 with a 3.26 ERA as he comes into this start. In his last start, he gave up 2 runs on 3 hits in 5 innings as he walked 2 and struck out 8. Even though he isn't getting decisions, Quintana has given the White Sox some solid innings of work in the last month or so. He should be able to better his results from 2013 when he went 9 -7 with an ERA of 3.51 in 33 starts.

Last season, Quintana was 0 -2 with a 4.02 ERA in 5 starts against the Royals. This season, he is 0 -2 in 2 starts against Kansas City.

Kansas City Royals Betting Trends

Kansas City Royals are 45-47-5 against the Over/Under

Run Differential for Kansas City Royals is 0

Chicago White Sox Betting Trends

Chicago White Sox are 51-45-3 against the Over/Under

Run differential for Chicago White Sox is -0.3

Injuries to Watch

Kansas City Royals

07/20/14 C Salvador Perez Groin questionable
07/09/14 P Jason Vargas Appendix 15-day DL (7/9)
03/30/14 P Luke Hochevar Elbow 60-day DL (3/21)

Chicago White Sox

05/20/14 P Matt Lindstrom Ankle 15-day DL (5/20)
04/19/14 P Felipe Paulino Shoulder 15-day DL (4/19)
04/10/14 RF Avisail Garcia Shoulder 60-day DL (4/9); out for season
04/04/14 P Nate Jones Hip 60-day DL (4/4)

Guy's Pick: Take Kansas City

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