Chicago White Sox vs Chicago Cubs Prediction, 8/22/2020 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Chicago White Sox vs Chicago Cubs

Date: Saturday, August 22, 2020

Location: Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL

TV: MARQ/NSCH

Odds/Point Spread: White Sox (+152) Cubs (-165)

Eloy Jimenez and the Chicago White Sox (15-11, 3rd in AL Central) head to Wrigley Field on Saturday where they'll take on the Chicago Cubs (16-8, 1st in NL Central). The Cubs open this game at -165 while the White Sox are priced at +152. The O/U opens at 9.5. The expected starting pitchers will be Reynaldo Lopez and Kyle Hendricks.

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 Probable for Aug 21
8/19/2020 Yasmani Grandal C Back Probable for 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 Ian Hamilton RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Aug 28
8/15/2020 Leury Garcia SS Thumb Out for the season
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

8/21/2020 Kris Bryant 3B Wrist Expected to be out until at least Aug 22
8/20/2020 James Norwood RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Aug 24
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
8/18/2020 Brad Wieck RP Hamstring Expected to be out until at least Sep 15
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 15-11 overall record this season. Lopez (25-32 record in his career) is the owner of a FIP of 4.80 and he has gone up against 2,023 batters in the major leagues. His ERA is 4.74 (245 earned runs allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.387. He has given up 467 base knocks (9.0 hits per nine innings) and has 178 free passes. Lopez has pitched in 465 frames and has totaled 392 punchouts in his career. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.81 and they have given up 91 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .204 against the bullpen and they've struck out 114 hitters and walked 34 batters. As a team, Chicago allows 8.3 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.1 batters per nine innings. They are 6th in the league in team earned run average at 3.95. The White Sox pitchers collectively have given up 209 base hits and 100 earned runs. They have allowed 28 home runs this season, ranking them 22nd in the league. Chicago as a pitching staff has walked 81 batters and struck out 230. They have walked 3.2 men per 9 innings while striking out 9.1 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.27 and their FIP as a unit is 3.97.

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Hitting Statistics

As a team Chicago is hitting .261, good for 4th in the league. The White Sox hold a .459 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .322, which is good for 13th in baseball. They rank 5th in MLB with 8.8 hits per game. Eloy Jimenez is hitting .275 with an on-base percentage of .302. He has 25 hits this season in 91 at bats with 19 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .560 and an OPS+ of 131. Tim Anderson is hitting .379 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .414. He has totaled 25 hits and he has driven in 9 men in 66 at bats. His OPS+ is 214 while his slugging percentage is at .758. The White Sox have 230 hits, including 41 doubles and 43 home runs. Chicago has walked 71 times so far this season and they have struck out 244 times as a unit. They have left 171 men on base and have a team OPS of .781. They score 4.88 runs per contest and have scored a total of 127 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Chicago has a 16-8 overall mark this year. In his career, Hendricks has surrendered 885 base hits while tallying 843 punchouts in 998 frames. He has conceded 349 ER's while holding a WHIP of 1.108 and having a FIP of 3.5. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 3.81 and he has gone up against 4,044 hitters so far in his MLB career. Hendricks (66-45 career record) has a 3.15 ERA and has allowed 8.0 hits per nine innings. 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 13th 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 26th 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 4.03.

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Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .228, good for 23rd 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. Ian Happ comes into this matchup batting .315 with an OBP of .438. He has 23 hits this year along with 14 RBI in 73 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .671 with an OPS+ of 197. Jason Kipnis is hitting .282 this season and he has an OBP of .408. He has collected 11 hits in 39 at bats while driving in 9 runs. He has an OPS+ of 162 and a slugging percentage of .564. 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?

Guy's Pick: Take the White Sox (+152)

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