Chicago White Sox (4th – AL Central) at Minnesota Twins (1st – AL Central)
Where: Target Field
When: April 12, 2018 8:05PM EST
Moneyline: White Sox +165 / Twins -175
Over/Under: 8.5
By expert handicapper Rich Crew
The White Sox head to Minnesota to battle the Twins in the series opener of AL Central rivals. MLB betting board lists Minnesota as a big -175* money line (Best Line at Intertops) favorite with the total line offered up at 8.5 runs . The first pitch at Target field is scheduled to be thrown at 8:10 EST and can be seen on FSN.
The White Sox come into this game off of a nice 2-1 win over the Rays with starter James Shields and three relievers combining to hold Tampa Bay to one run on four hits. The victory put an end to a nasty five-game losing streak all at home where they are now 1-5. On the road, they’re a positive 3-2 W/L on the season notching two in Kansas City against the Royals before dropping two of three in Toronto.
The Twins are coming off back to back home wins over a strong Houston team. It didn’t look good for Minnesota in the latest when the Astros fought back from an 8-1 deficit to tie the game in the ninth before the Twins Max Kepler went long for the second time for the walk-off win. On the campaign, Minnesota is 3-2 both at home and on the road for a 6-4 overall W/L mark.
In this series last season, the edge went to the Twins in a big way winning six of nine at Target and six of ten on the road. In the previous five games at Minnesota, the home side took four of them with the O/U going 3-2.
Pitching Match-Up
Chicago: Lucas Giolito will make his third start of the season when he takes the mound at Target Field. Giolito was a little erratic in his opener on the road against the Royals, walking four but overall he pitched well going six frames allowing three runs on four hits to record a quality start. This start will be the young right-hander’s second career versus the Twins, and he pitched adequately in his start last season going six innings allowing four runs on six hits.
Minnesota: Jose Berrios is the starter for the Twins, and this will be his third outing of the season. Berrios was brilliant in his opener with a complete game three-hit shutout. He got chased from his second start in the fourth after allowing five runs on just six hits over 4 2/3 innings. He has made four career starts against the White Sox and has been impressive holding Chicago to three or fewer runs and in all four and allowing a combined two runs in 15 innings striking out 19 and walking two in two home starts.
Betting Trends
- The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Chi White Sox’s last 11 games on the road
- Chi White Sox are 1-5 SU in its last six games when playing on the road against Minnesota
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Minnesota’s last six games when playing Chi White Sox
- The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Minnesota’s last nine games when playing at home against Chi White Sox
Public Money
The public is betting the Twins with both fists with 79% of the money line wagers landing on the home team. The total the mainstream are showing a slight lean to the OVER with 55% of the O/U bets on that side of the line.
White Sox at Twins Prediction
ChiSox starter Lucas Giolito looked OK in his only lifetime start against Minnesota. It’s a small sample size, but the current Twins starters have hit a meager .190 against him in 21 at-bats. Minnesota starter Jose Berrios has owned the White Sox batters holding them to a career .132 average, and he’s been dominate versus them at home. Neither club has been wearing out the scorekeeper with Chicago and Minnesota reaching over four runs once in their last five.
Crew’s Pick: Take the UNDER 8.5 at 5Dimes to get the best line on this game and guys if you don’t have an account here, now is the time to save money all season long with this betting shop’s overnight nickel lines and dime line betting on game day!