Oakland Athletics vs Chicago White Sox Prediction, 8/26/2023 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Oakland Athletics vs Chicago White Sox

Date: Saturday, August 26, 2023

Location: Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago, IL

TV: NBC Sports Chicago

Odds/Point Spread: Oakland (+120) Chicago (-142)

Guaranteed Rate Field is the location where the Chicago White Sox (50-78) will try to beat the Oakland Athletics (37-91) on Saturday. The odds on this game have Oakland at +120 while Chicago is coming in at -142. The over/under is 8.5. The pitchers taking the mound are Paul Blackburn and Touki Toussaint.

Oakland has a slugging rate of .367 and have been called out on strikes 1,171 times, while drawing a walk on 403 occasions. They have accrued 446 RBI's as well as 937 base knocks so far this year, and their batting average comes in at .223. The Athletics have accumulated 175 doubles as a squad and have knocked 132 balls out of the stadium. They have tallied 461 runs while holding a team on-base percentage of .300. As a unit, the Oakland Athletics are putting up 3.6 runs per outing, which is 30th in baseball.

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The Athletics have compiled a team earned run average of 5.76 on the season (30th in the league), and they have rung up 1,030 hitters. Athletics pitchers have conceded 175 long balls in addition to 762 runs in total (30th in the league). They have walked 540 opposing players and their FIP is 5.11 as a squad so far this season. Oakland has relinquished 1,187 hits (9.5 per 9 innings) in addition to 719 earned runs. Their strikeout to walk ratio is 1.91 and their pitching staff has a collective WHIP of 1.54.

The Athletics relief pitchers have compiled a save rate of 47.8% and has entered the game in 94 save situations. The relief pitchers have inherited 245 runners over the course of the season with 38.8% of those players ended up scoring. Athletics bullpen pitchers have entered the game with players on base 157 times as well as having 149 appearances in high leverage situations. The Athletics have sent 429 relief pitchers to the mound so far this year. The relief pitchers have tallied 46 holds this season (29th in baseball). They have 22 saves this year and have missed out on 24 out of their 46 save chances.

The Oakland Athletics have amassed 3,371 putouts on the campaign, in addition to 1,012 assists and 77 errors. Their fielding percentage is at .983 which puts them in 27th in professional baseball, and have 92 double plays. The Athletics have converted 67.4% of balls hit into play into outs out of 10,113 innings on the diamond, which has them ranked 29th in the majors.

Blackburn has taken the ball for 328 innings and is sitting with 246 strikeouts during his MLB career. Blackburn (16-20 career win-loss mark) holds a FIP of 4.25 and he has faced 1,415 hitters in the majors. His ERA is 4.83 (176 ER's allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.399. He has given up 364 base knocks (10.0 hits per 9 innings) and has 95 walks.

The Chicago White Sox have compiled an on-base percentage of .295 as well as a batting average of .240 on the campaign. They have been called out on strikes on 1,140 instances (9th in the league) and have earned 1,048 base hits. Chicago has compiled 140 long balls on the season as well as 508 runs batted in. The White Sox have a SLG% of .388 and they earn 4.13 runs per game (25th in the league). They have 208 doubles, while walking 307 times and putting up 529 runs.

The White Sox have a WHIP of 1.404 and have a FIP of 4.79 as a unit this year. They rank 19th in baseball as a staff in total hits given up with 1,076. The Chicago pitching staff have yielded 654 runs on the year while having a team ERA of 4.82 (608 earned runs yielded). Their strikeout to walk ratio is 9.40 (1,191 strikeouts vs 517 free passes). They have conceded 181 dingers and they relinquish 5.19 runs per 9 innings (26th in the league).

Sitting with 110 save situations, the White Sox have tallied 60 holds and also 26 blown saves. Chicago has had relief pitchers step onto the hill in 49 save chances and they have recorded 23 saves. Their relief pitchers have stepped onto the mound 160 times in high leverage situations and also on 123 occasions with base runners. Chicago bullpen pitchers hold an inherited score percentage of 37.0% out of 173 inherited base runners. They rank 30th in the league with a save percentage of 46.9%, and they have dispatched 412 relievers to the mound so far this season.

The Chicago White Sox have turned 88 double plays and have a fielding percentage of .985 (21st in the majors). The White Sox have accrued 956 assists, 67 errors and have earned 3,405 putouts so far this year. Out of their 10,215 innings on the field, the White Sox have a defensive efficiency of 68.9% (17th in professional baseball).

Toussaint (11-13 mark in his career) has earned a 5.33 earned run average while surrendering 7.6 hits per 9 innings. His K/BB ratio is 1.62 and he has gone up against 1,009 batters so far in his pro baseball career. He has allowed 133 earned runs while holding a WHIP of 1.491 and being the owner of a FIP of 5.4. So far in his MLB career, Toussaint has surrendered 190 hits and he has 235 strikeouts in 224 frames.

Who will win tonight's MLB game against the spread or moneyline?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Oakland (+120)

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