Chicago White Sox vs Kansas City Royals Predictions, MLB Picks, Betting Tips 7/31/2020

Game: Chicago White Sox vs Kansas City Royals

Date: Friday, July 31, 2020

Location: Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, MO

TV: NSCH/FSKC

Odds/Point Spread: White Sox (-140) Royals (+126)

Kauffman Stadium is the venue where Whit Merrifield and the Kansas City Royals (2-4, 5th in AL Central) will take on the Chicago White Sox (2-4, 4th in AL Central) on Friday. The Royals open this contest at +126 while the White Sox are coming in at -140. The O/U has been set at 10. The pitchers who are expected to start will be Dallas Keuchel and Kris Bubic.

Key Chicago White Sox Injuries

7/30/2020 Jose Ruiz RP Undisclosed Expected to be out until at least Jul 31
7/29/2020 Jimmy Lambert RP Forearm Expected to be out until at least Aug 15
7/27/2020 Reynaldo Lopez SP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Aug 10
7/22/2020 Nomar Mazara RF Illness Expected to be out until at least Aug 1

Key Kansas City Royals Injuries

7/30/2020 Cam Gallagher C Illness Expected to be out until at least Jul 30
7/28/2020 Mike Montgomery RP Lat Expected to be out until at least Aug 14
7/28/2020 Foster Griffin SP Forearm Out for the season
7/23/2020 Chance Adams RP Undisclosed Expected to be out until at least Jul 31
7/23/2020 Randy Rosario RP Arm Expected to be out until at least Aug 3
7/22/2020 Hunter Dozier 3B Illness Expected to be out until at least Aug 7
7/21/2020 Brad Keller SP Not Injury Related Expected to be out until at least Jul 31
7/20/2020 Jake Junis SP Not Injury Related Expected to be out until at least Jul 31
7/16/2020 Kelvin Gutierrez 3B Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 1

Useful Pitching Statistics

The White Sox have a 2-4 overall record this season. Keuchel has taken the mound for 1,307 frames and has earned 1,037 strikeouts during his career. His earned run average is 3.67 (533 ER's allowed) and his career WHIP is 1.258. He has allowed 1,262 base knocks (8.7 hits per 9 innings) with 382 walks. Keuchel (85-71 mark in his career) holds a FIP of 3.86 while he has gone up against 5,443 opposing batters in the major leagues. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.15 and they have given up 24 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .190 against the bullpen and they've struck out 31 hitters and walked 11 batters. As a team, Chicago allows 8.8 hits per nine innings while striking out 8 batters per nine innings. They are 28th in the league in team earned run average at 6.23. The White Sox pitchers collectively have given up 51 base hits and 36 earned runs. They have allowed 10 home runs this season, ranking them 4th in the league. Chicago as a pitching staff has walked 21 batters and struck out 46. They have walked 3.6 men per 9 innings while striking out 8 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.39 and their FIP as a unit is 5.19.

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Hitting Statistics

As a team Chicago is hitting .255, good for 5th in the league. The White Sox hold a .457 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .308, which is good for 17th in baseball. They rank 5th in MLB with 8.8 hits per game. Yoan Moncada is hitting .333 with an on-base percentage of .391. He has 7 hits this season in 21 at bats with 4 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .571 and an OPS+ of 167. Eloy Jimenez is hitting .364 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .385. He has totaled 4 hits and he has driven in 2 men in 11 at bats. His OPS+ is 204 while his slugging percentage is at .727. The White Sox have 53 hits, including 12 doubles and 10 home runs. Chicago has walked 15 times so far this season and they have struck out 61 times as a unit. They have left 42 men on base and have a team OPS of .765. They score 4.5 runs per contest and have scored a total of 27 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Kansas City has a 2-4 overall mark this year. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.52 and they have given up 23 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .177 against the Royals bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 29 batters and walked 16 opposing hitters. As a team, Kansas City allows 7.2 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.6 batters per nine innings. They are 15th in the league in team earned run average at 4.24. The Royals pitchers as a team have surrendered 41 base knocks and 24 earned runs this season. They have given up 8 home runs this year, which ranks 11th in Major League Baseball. Kansas City as a staff has walked 21 hitters and struck out 49 batters. They give up a walk 3.7 times per 9 innings while they strike out 8.6 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.22 while their FIP as a staff is 4.90.

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Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .209, good for 24th in the league. The Royals hold a .398 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .261, which is good for 29th in baseball. They rank 20th in MLB with 7.0 hits per contest. Whit Merrifield comes into this matchup batting .391 with an OBP of .440. He has 9 hits this year along with 7 RBI in 23 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .783 with an OPS+ of 240. Maikel Franco is hitting .348 this season and he has an OBP of .333. He has collected 8 hits in 23 at bats while driving in 7 runs. He has an OPS+ of 194 and a slugging percentage of .739. The Royals as a unit have 42 base hits, including 9 doubles and 9 homers. Kansas City has walked 11 times this year and they have struck out on 61 occasions. They have had 28 men left on base and have an OPS of .659. They have scored 4.33 runs per game and totaled 26 runs this season.

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

Guy's Pick: Take the White Sox (-140)

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