White Sox vs. Giants Odds & Predictions 7/1/22

Chicago White Sox (35-39) vs. San Francisco Giants (40-34)
When: 10:15 p.m., Friday, July 1
Where: Oracle Park, San Francisco
Moneyline: CHW +130/SF -155
Runline: White Sox +1.5/Giants -1.5
Total: 7.5

Starting Pitchers: Lance Lynn (1-1. 6.19 ERA, 1.44 WHIP) vs. Alex Cobb (3-3, 5.48 ERA, 1.46 WHIP)

Lacking Power and Patience

It would be easy to call this White Sox team a return to the old Hitless Wonder days of the 1970s and before, but that would require the White Sox to be wonders at something. Instead, the Pale Hose have just been hitless in 2022, as they’ve only managed to hit 61 home runs, tied for fifth-worst in the majors. Incredibly, they’re second in their own division at hitting big flies, which only shows just how punchless the AL Central is.
You could forgive the White Sox’s lack of power hitting if they were manufacturing runs on a regular basis, but that doesn’t seem to be happening either. Chicago only ranks 23rd in runs scored on the season, and a large reason for that is because when the Sox do get a good swing on the ball, there usually isn’t another teammate in position to score on the play, leaving them with a lot of low-scoring situations. Bettors have seemingly caught on to the Sox, as they’ve only gone 34-37-1 to the under this year, but five of their past seven have gone Under.

Tough Act to Follow

Both the White Sox and the Giants have learned that it’s not exactly easy to build on top of what you did the year before. Bettors have also learned that lesson the hard way in 2022, as blindly betting the White Sox in every game would have you down eight units, and doing the same with the Giants would have you down six. In each case, the problem is something different.

In the case of Chicago, it’s pretty simple: the White Sox just haven’t performed in line with their expectations. A team with this quality of pitching should not have an ERA of 4.13 or rank in the bottom third in ERA. Throw in that the runs scored is a mere 4.18, and it’s little wonder that the Sox are looking up at Minnesota and Cleveland in the AL Central.
San Francisco’s problem isn’t so much their own issues as it is the resurrection of the Padres. Last year, the Giants essentially had a free run for themselves and the Dodgers to claim the top two spots in the MLB playoffs, as San Diego was the most disappointing side in 2021. San Francisco hasn’t been bad by any means, but the Giants need more out of their pitching in order to seriously contend again.

Shell of the Ace

Lance Lynn, to put it kindly, isn’t looking like the pitcher he was supposed to be when he was brought to Chicago, as his recovery stretched into July and hasn’t appeared anywhere close to fully getting him back to the pitcher he used to be. The Orioles even whacked Lynn around, as the White Sox left Lynn in for six innings and gave up six runs in the process. The talent is still there, but Lynn has to get himself back to pitching the way he’s capable of if the Sox are going to keep sending him to the hill, and so far, the signs don’t suggest he can do the job.

More Picks: Get our Red Sox vs. Cubs Early Game Bet

Betting Trends

• The White Sox are 2-6 in their past eight games overall.
• The White Sox are 14-4 in their past 18 interleague games.
• The Giants are 9-3 in their past 12 interleague games.
• The Giants are 24-9 in their past 33 games after an off day.
• The under is 6-1 in the White Sox’s past seven games.
• The under is 4-1 in the White Sox’s past five games after a loss.
• The under is 3-0-1 in the Giants’ past four interleague home games.
• The under is 13-6-3 in the Giants’ past 22 games overall.
• The White Sox have won eight of the last ten meetings with the Giants.
• The over is 3-0-1 in the past four matchups.

Weather Report

Keeping the ball in the park could be challenging, as the wind is set to blow out to the left-center at 13 miles per hour. However, those cold San Francisco summers are back again: the temperature is set to hit a mere 53 degrees.

Dan’s Pick

I’m not comfortable at all with touching either Lynn or the White Sox in this situation. The Giants have been the more steady team and should be able to come out with the victory in this one based on the pitching matchup and the fact that they can actually hit. That should be enough in this matchup; I’ll back the Giants here. Bet your White Sox vs. Giants prediction and ALL your MLB wagers for free this week by scoring a huge 100% real cash bonus on your first deposit of $100 to $500 when you use bonus code PREDICTEM at Betnow Sportsbook!