Saturday night baseball and we will see the Chicago White Sox take on the Texas Rangers in game 2 of their 3 game series from Texas. The game is scheduled for an 8:05 (ET) pm start time and it will be televised live on. Currently the odds have Texas favored at -184, whileChicago is dogs of +173. The total for the game sits at 10 runs.
Free Analysis: After being swept by Detroit last weekend to fall 1 1/2 games behind the Tigers, Chicago (54-45) has rebounded with four straight wins to take a 1 1/2-game lead. Coming off a three-game home sweep of Minnesota, the White Sox opened this series with a 9-5 victory Friday. Alejandro De Aza drove in two runs in the fourth before leaving after a collision with Alexei Ramirez and Alex Rios added a two-run homer in the ninth. After scoring nine runs and hitting .195 during a five-game losing streak, the White Sox have averaged 8.8 runs while hitting .326 in four games since. Chicago hitters are a combined 24-for-112 (.214) against Harrison, with 3B Kevin Youkilis (4-for-14, 2B, 2 HR, 4 RBIs, 2 BB) and INF Brent Morel (2-for-4, HR, 3 RBIs) enjoying the most success. Getting the ball for Chicago will be Philip Humber (4-5, 6.25), who struggled his last time out after a promising return off the disabled list against Boston on July 17. The right-hander, who allowed two runs in six innings at Fenway Park, gave up six runs and surrendered four homers in three innings of a 6-4 loss at Detroit on Sunday. The Texas native is making his first start against the Rangers after posting a 1.69 ERA in three relief appearances. Although Texas (58-40) still has a four-game lead over Los Angeles in the West, it may be feeling more pressure after the Angels acquired Zack Greinke from Milwaukee on Friday. Oakland has also played itself into the division race, winning 17 of 20 to pull within 4 1/2 of the Rangers. Another big concern for Texas is the continued struggles of Josh Hamilton, who went hitless for a third straight game Friday and is batting .145 in July with 19 strikeouts. He struck out twice in the loss and heard rare boos from the home crowd. Although the Rangers have a few concerns, Matt Harrison (12-5, 3.02 ERA) likely isn't one of them. Harrison will be looking to bounce back Saturday after allowing four runs and eight hits in six innings of a 7-4 loss to the Angels on Sunday. However, he had a 1.34 ERA over his previous 10 starts and had thrown consecutive complete games. The left-hander is 1-1 with a 1.29 ERA in two starts against the White Sox this season. The loss on July 5 was his first in seven lifetime starts versus Chicago. The home team had won five of the six head-to-head meetings between the two division leaders before Chicago pulled away the road win in Friday’s series opener, its seventh victory in its last nine games at The Ballpark in Arlington.
Free Pick: Gonna look to the Under in this one. Philip Humber has really struggled this year with a 6.25 ERA overall and a 5.59 ERA on the road, but he seems to be giving up all the runs as the Sox as a team have allowed just 3.9 rpg in his road starts. His road starts have averaged 9 rpg and he will be taking on a Texas offense that has been sputtering. The Rangers have still scored 4.7 rpg in their last 10 games, and they do score 5.4 rpg at home, but when Matt Harrison is on the mound, at home, they don't seem to score as well. Matt has 8 home starts on the year and he has a 3.02 ERA in those starts, with his mates scoring just 3.5 rpg for him. Matt has really excelled at night with a 1.89 ERA in 11 starts and a 1.19 WHIP. Ranger home games have averaged 9.8 rpg (which is way below the norm), while their night games have averaged 9.4 rpg, but when Matt has been on the mound their home games have averaged just 6.5 rpg, while their night games have averaged just 6.45 rpg. This one should finish around 7.
-$25 of picks FREE! No Obligation - No Credit Card Required - Becoming a member is Fast and Free!
-Fan of sports betting? Enter the free $10,000 Match Marco MLB Contest and take a shot at winning anywhere from $500.00 all the way up to a Grand Prize of 10k!
MLB Free Picks: Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees Betting
What baseball bettors need to know about Red Sox at Yankees on Saturday (7/28/12) - with Pregame.com's Bryan Leonard and host Vegas Runner.