Friday night baseball and we will see the Chicago White Sox travel to the Motor City to take on the Detroit Tigers in game 1 of their 3 game series. The game is scheduled for a 7:05 (ET) pm start time and it will be televised live on. Currently the odds have Detroit favored at -178, while Chicago is dogs of +168. The total for the game sits at 7.5 runs.
Free Analysis: While there figures to be plenty of intrigue surrounding this weekend's three-game set between the AL Central-leading Chicago White Sox and second-place Detroit Tigers, neither club appears to be buying in to the hype.After controlling the division for nearly two months, Chicago (50-42) could soon be in danger of relinquishing its lead. The White Sox have dropped four of six and sit just 1 1/2 games ahead of the Tigers (49-44), who are starting to live up to preseason expectations following many weeks of subpar play. Chicago suffered a deflating 3-1 loss Thursday at Boston, taking a one-run lead into the ninth inning before Addison Reed gave up a three-run homer to Cody Ross. Kevin Youkilis could be back in the lineup for Chicago after sitting out Thursday with a tight left hamstring. Batting .362 with four homers and 14 RBIs in his last 12 games overall, Youkilis is hitless in his last 17 at-bats at Detroit. Jake Peavy (7-6, 3.12) was for the most part superb over the first half of the season, but his second half got off to a rough start Saturday. The right-hander was tagged for six runs and a career-worst 12 hits over seven-plus innings of a 6-3 defeat at Kansas City. Peavy also struggled in his last meeting with the Tigers, yielding six runs and nine hits over 5 1-3 innings of a 10-8 loss May 15. Since joining the White Sox in 2009, though, he's gone 1-0 with a 1.72 ERA in two outings in Detroit. Detroit has hit .307 with runners in scoring position and averaged 5.6 runs - a full run higher than its season mark - in winning 10 of 12. The Tigers enter this series after taking three of four from the Los Angeles Angels, prevailing 5-1 in Thursday's series finale. Getting back on track could prove difficult for Chicago against Verlander (10-5, 2.43 ERA), who's 10-1 with a 2.33 ERA over his last 11 starts in this series. The reigning AL MVP and Cy Young award winner has also been excellent over his last six outings overall, going 5-1 with a 1.91 ERA. In his first appearance since the All-Star break, Verlander struck out eight over eight innings of three-hit ball in Sunday's 4-0 victory at Baltimore. 1B Prince Fielder has hit Peavy better than any of his teammates, going 8-for-24 with four doubles, while Chicago’s biggest bats have struggled against Verlander — 1B Paul Konerko is 8-for-49 (.163) with two home runs and 15 strikeouts, while Dunn is 3-for-17 (.176) with two homers and 10 strikeouts. The Tigers have owned the AL Central in head-to-head action, winning 40 of their last 58 games against division opponents, while the White Sox have won nine of their last 11 within the division.
Free Pick: I like the Under in this game. After a horrible showing in the All-Star game Justin Verlander showed that that was a fluke by allowing 0 ER's in 8 innings of a 4-0 win vs Baltimore. Justin has a skinny 1.61 EA at home and his home starts have averaged just 6 rpg. His solid numbers at home should continue tonight vs a Chicago team that is struggling offensively of late. The Sox average 4.3 rpg on the road this year, but in this last 6 on this trip they have put up just 2.5 rpg and have scored just 1 run in 3 of their last 4 games. When Justin is on the mound it seems as if the Tigers offense goes in to a shell. For the year they have averaged just 3.53 rpg in his starts, while at home they have put up just 3.5 rpg in his 8 starts, which compares to an overall home average of 4.61 rpg. Jake Peavy has struggled in his last 3 starts (4.43 ERA), but he has pitched well on the road this year with a 2.95 ERA, with his road starts averaging just 6 rpg. Jake has struggled somewhat vs the Tigers, but in his last 2 starts here he has allowed just 3 total ER's. Both pitchers will have good showings tonight as this game hits at most 5 runs.
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MLB Free Picks: Chicago White Sox at Detroit Tigers - Best Bet
What baseball bettors need to know about White Sox at Tigers on Friday (7/20/12) - Including a free best bet from Pregame.com's Vegas Runner with host Marco D'Angelo.