Toronto (45-40) at Chicago White Sox (37-49)
When: Tuesday, July 4th 2023
Where: Guaranteed Rate Field,
Chicago, IL
Time: 8:10 ET | TV: mlb.tv
Opening Odds: Toronto -115/8.5
Two struggling American League teams enter the final week before the All-Star Break hoping to gain some momentum for a second half run. The Toronto Blue Jays visit the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field on July 4th. These teams met way back in April in Toronto and it wasn’t even close. The Blue Jays easily swept the series and outscored Chicago 20-2, including back-to-back shutouts. All three games went Under the total after all six the previous season went Over.
Chicago comes home after going 3-4 on a West Coast trip that included a split at the L.A. Angels before almost getting swept by the lowly Oakland A’s. The pitching staff for the White Sox has allowed exactly seven run in each of the past four games including an 8-7 win on Sunday. However, as bad as the season has gone, the White Sox are just 5.5 games out of first place in the ugly AL Central.
Toronto is five games above .500, but sit 11 games back of first place Tampa Bay in the AL East. Thank God for the wild card race, as Toronto is just 1.5 games out of a postseason spot entering Monday’s action. The Blue Jays just completed a nine-game homestand that started off great with two series wins before getting swept once again by the Boston Red Sox.
Pitchers: Blue Jays – Chris Bassitt (8-5, 4.06) | White Sox – Lucas Giolito (6-5, 3.53)
Chris Bassitt rebounded from three poor outings to shutout the San Francisco Giants over six innings last Thursday. It’s been a rough season away from home for Bassitt, who carries a 5.89 road ERA in nine starts. He allowed two runs over 6.1 innings on April 24 vs. the White Sox and is 3-2 with a 3.77 ERA career against them.
Lucas Giolito is 2-1 with a 2.32 ERA and 39 strikeouts over his last five starts despite allowing four runs in his last outing. He has not done well in his career against the Blue Jays, going 2-2 with a 5.91 ERA in six career starts against them. Bo Bichette is 3-for-8 off him with a double and homer, while Alejandro Kirk is 4-for-9 with three homers.
I like Giolito in this matchup based on home/road splits for both pitchers. Bassitt has been awful on the road, while Giolito does his best pitching at home. Neither team is playing well overall, but at least the White Sox are scoring some runs.
Check out who Bobby Babowski has on his Free MLB Picks page for today.
Pick: White Sox +107
