Chicago White Sox vs Chicago Cubs Prediction, 8/21/2020 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Chicago White Sox vs Chicago Cubs

Date: Friday, August 21, 2020

Location: Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL

TV: MARQ/NSCH

Odds/Point Spread: White Sox (+113) Cubs (-123)

Wrigley Field is the venue where Javier Baez and the Chicago Cubs (16-8, 1st in NL Central) will take on the Chicago White Sox (14-11, 3rd in AL Central) on Friday. The Cubs open this game at -123 while the White Sox are coming in at +113. The total opens at 9.5. The pitchers taking the mound will be Dallas Keuchel and Jon Lester.

Key Chicago White Sox Injuries

8/20/2020 Reynaldo Lopez SP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Aug 22
8/20/2020 Luis Robert CF Hand Expected to be out until at least Aug 21
8/19/2020 Yasmani Grandal C Back Expected to be out until at least Aug 21
8/18/2020 Carlos Rodon SP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Sep 7
8/17/2020 Nick Madrigal 2B Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Aug 25
8/15/2020 Leury Garcia SS Thumb Out for the season
8/15/2020 Ian Hamilton RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Aug 28
8/12/2020 Aaron Bummer RP Biceps Expected to be out until at least Aug 23
8/3/2020 Jimmy Lambert RP Forearm Expected to be out until at least Sep 14

Key Chicago Cubs Injuries

8/20/2020 James Norwood RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Aug 24
8/18/2020 Kris Bryant 3B Wrist Expected to be out until at least Aug 21
8/18/2020 Brad Wieck RP Hamstring Expected to be out until at least Sep 15
8/18/2020 Jose Quintana SP Thumb Expected to be out until at least Aug 25
8/18/2020 Steven Souza RF Hamstring Expected to be out until at least Aug 28
8/16/2020 Tyler Chatwood SP Back Expected to be out until at least Aug 25
7/23/2020 Daniel Descalso 2B Ankle Expected to be out until at least Sep 5

Useful Pitching Statistics

The White Sox have a 14-11 overall record this season. Keuchel (87-73 win-loss record in his career) has earned a FIP of 3.86 while he has gone up against 5,542 opposing hitters in the majors. His ERA is 3.66 (541 ER's allowed) and he has a career WHIP of 1.256. He has allowed 1,284 hits (8.7 hits per nine innings) and has 388 walks. Keuchel has taken the mound for 1,331 innings and has racked up 1,052 strikeouts so far in his pro baseball career. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.88 and they have given up 89 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .203 against the bullpen and they've struck out 112 hitters and walked 34 batters. As a team, Chicago allows 8.4 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.8 batters per nine innings. They are 10th in the league in team earned run average at 4.11. The White Sox pitchers collectively have given up 204 base hits and 100 earned runs. They have allowed 28 home runs this season, ranking them 19th in the league. Chicago as a pitching staff has walked 80 batters and struck out 215. They have walked 3.3 men per 9 innings while striking out 8.8 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.30 and their FIP as a unit is 4.10.

Related: How to Bet Parlays

Hitting Statistics

As a team Chicago is hitting .258, good for 6th in the league. The White Sox hold a .452 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .316, which is good for 17th in baseball. They rank 5th in MLB with 8.7 hits per game. Yoan Moncada is hitting .272 with an on-base percentage of .340. He has 25 hits this season in 92 at bats with 15 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .478 and an OPS+ of 124. José Abreu is hitting .277 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .318. He has totaled 28 hits and he has driven in 17 men in 101 at bats. His OPS+ is 118 while his slugging percentage is at .485. The White Sox have 218 hits, including 37 doubles and 41 home runs. Chicago has walked 66 times so far this season and they have struck out 238 times as a unit. They have left 162 men on base and have a team OPS of .768. They score 4.72 runs per contest and have scored a total of 118 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Chicago has a 16-8 overall mark this year. Lester (192-108 career win-loss mark) has a 3.56 ERA while giving up 8.4 hits per 9 innings. His SO/W ratio is 2.88 and he has faced 10,687 opposing batters in his career. Thus far in his career, Lester has surrendered 2,403 base knocks while he has totaled 2,369 strikeouts in 2,560 innings pitched. He has surrendered 1,012 earned runs while holding a WHIP of 1.260 and being the owner of a FIP of 3.7. The bullpen has an earned run average of 5.50 and they have given up 65 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .195 against the Cubs bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 83 batters and walked 44 opposing hitters. As a team, Chicago allows 7.4 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.6 batters per nine innings. They are 14th in the league in team earned run average at 4.18. The Cubs pitchers as a team have surrendered 171 base knocks and 97 earned runs this season. They have given up 25 home runs this year, which ranks 25th in Major League Baseball. Chicago as a staff has walked 72 hitters and struck out 200 batters. They give up a walk 3.1 times per 9 innings while they strike out 8.6 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.16 while their FIP as a staff is 4.01.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .228, good for 22nd in the league. The Cubs hold a .410 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .339, which is good for 4th in baseball. They rank 25th in MLB with 7.1 hits per contest. Javier Baez comes into this matchup batting .189 with an OBP of .237. He has 17 hits this year along with 10 RBI in 90 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .344 with an OPS+ of 56. Anthony Rizzo is hitting .231 this season and he has an OBP of .406. He has collected 18 hits in 78 at bats while driving in 9 runs. He has an OPS+ of 133 and a slugging percentage of .449. The Cubs as a unit have 171 base hits, including 38 doubles and 31 homers. Chicago has walked 105 times this year and they have struck out on 250 occasions. They have had 164 men left on base and have an OPS of .749. They have scored 4.79 runs per game and totaled 115 runs this season.

Who will win tonight's White Sox/Cubs MLB game against the spread?

Parlays Pundit's Pick: Take the Cubs (-123) and over 9.5 runs

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