Cleveland Indians vs. Chicago White Sox Pick 9/24/19

Cleveland Indians (92-64) vs. Chicago White Sox (68-87)
When: 8 p.m., Tuesday, September 24
Where: Guaranteed Rate Field, Chicago

Moneyline: CLE -270/CWS +220 (Bovada)
Runline: Indians -1.5/White Sox +1.5
Total: 9.5

All Or Nothing

The Indians got what they wanted out of their final home series of the season: to enter the last week of the year in control of their own destiny. Should Cleveland run the table, the absolute worst that could happen to the Indians would be a trip to Tampa Bay for a play-in game for the second wild card. Now they’ve got to make the most of their opportunity. That will have to come against the White Sox, whom the Indians have struggled with all season. The Pale Hose might be 19 games under .500, but they’re 9-7 against the Tribe this season.

Cleveland manager Terry Francona has said that he wants his team focused solely on Chicago and not scoreboard watching the teams around them. The Indians have a good shot at one of the wild card spots or even could catch Minnesota for the AL Central title, or they could miss the playoffs entirely based off what happens in the final six games of the season.

Two and One

It’s not the same as Chuck Woolery’s famous sign-off line; it’s what Mike Clevinger‘s done in three of his past four starts, including one against the White Sox. In each of those starts, he’s given up exactly two earned runs and one home run. That’s been a big reason why the Indians have won in five of his past seven starts and Clevinger has only taken the loss in one of those starts, an eight-inning performance where his teammates couldn’t solve Minnesota and gave him no run support. When he’s had run support, he’s not only kept runs off the board. He’s also prevented hitters from reaching base. In his past seven starts, the most he’s allowed is seven hits — and that came in a shutout of the Tigers.

Losses Add Up

Hector Santiago hasn’t exactly gotten off to a great start with Chicago. He came over from the Mets, and in nine appearances as a White Sox player, the Sox have lost all nine of them. In many cases, the losses haven’t been Santiago’s fault, as the left-handed hurler has held his opponent scoreless in four of those six appearances. But the White Sox have either been a mess before or after Santiago takes the hill, as their lack of an offense has left them hoping to get creative with their outs and the players’ outs.

The Historicals

The White Sox need just one victory here to win the season series and secure a winning record over Cleveland on the South Side. It’s a marked change from where the Indians have usually been against Chicago: the last time the Indians lost the season series to the ChiSox was 2015, which was also the last time the Indians missed the postseason.

Betting Trends

• The Indians have won Clevinger’s past seven road starts.
• The Indians are 39-13 in their previous 52 against the AL Central.
• The White Sox are 1-5 in Santiago’s past six starts against a team with a winning record.
• The White Sox are 1-4 in their recent five times against Clevinger.
• The under is 6-0 in the Indians’ past six road games.
• The over is 4-1 in Santiago’s past five overall starts.

Weather Report

Showers are in the forecast, and the temperature is supposed to be heading toward fall, reaching 62 degrees at first pitch.

Dan’s pick

The first rule to know when it comes to picking a game that involves the Indians is simple: never pick against the Indians when they’re facing a left-handed pitcher. Cleveland simply mashes lefties, which is something that makes the Indians a nightmare matchup for the Yankees. Should the Indians get into the playoffs, there’s an excellent shot that they could put a quick end to the Yankees’ pursuit of a championship.