Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Chicago White Sox Free MLB Pick, 8–25–2020
Free MLB Pick by Taylor Gold of SportsInvestorCentral.com
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Chicago White Sox
Time: August 25, 2020, 8:10 PM EST
Current Odds: White Sox -235, RL -1.5, O/U 9
The Pittsburgh Pirates (7–17) take to the road to Guaranteed Rate Field for a two-game Interleague tilt with the Chicago White Sox (17–12). The Pirates are fresh off a rare series sweep over the Milwaukee Brewers while the White Sox are 7–3 their L10 games.
Pittsburgh will give the start to Steven Brault (0–0, 3.00 ERA) on Tuesday. The 28-year-old starter hasn’t yielded a run in back-to-back games and recently torched the Cleveland Indians in five innings of work for only two hits and no runs. Pittsburgh’s offense has been an issue scoring 4.25 runs per game, .229 team batting average, and only 24 home runs. Pittsburgh is 2–8 on the road.
Chicago was expected to compete for the AL Central and they enter this series just 2.5 games behind the Twins. The White Sox offense has been hot averaging 5.0 runs per game, .265 team batting average and 55 home runs. Defensively the Sox has been just as good with a 3.79 team ERA and 11 quality starts. Lucas Giolito (2–2, 3.89 ERA) will get the start and the 26-year-old right-hander has pitched well including 45 strikeouts to go against a Pirates offense with a 24.7% strikeout rate vs. righties.
Pirates are 3–13 in their last 16 interleague games
Pirates are 9–21 in their last 30 games vs. a right-handed starter
White Sox are 7–1 in their last 8 overall
White Sox are 7–0 in their last 7 games vs. a left-handed starter
Let’s not get wrapped up in the series sweep by the Pirates over the inconsistent Brewers as they enter this series vs. the red hot White Sox. Chicago has the offense and starting rotation to do some damage this season and they should continue their dominance on Tuesday night. Lucas Giolito is facing a Pirates lineup that is one of the worst in baseball and their power numbers shouldn’t pose a threat. On the flip side, the White Sox offense is potent and should get after Steven Brault. Brault has pitched well in his fill-in role as a starting pitcher but he hasn’t faced an offense quite like the White Sox. Chicago should get enough offense to separate from Pittsburgh while Giolito silences the Pirates bats. Take the White Sox -1.5 run line in Tuesday’s Game 1 matchup.
Pirates vs. White Sox Free RL Pick: Chicago White Sox -1.5
