Cleveland Guardians vs. Chicago White Sox Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 5/11/2022

Time: 2:10 p.m. ET

Venue: Guaranteed Rate Field, Chicago, IL

Where to watch: Bally Sports Great Lakes, NBC Sports Chicago

DraftKings: White Sox -145, Guardians +125

BetMGM: White Sox -145, Guardians +120

Caesars: White Sox -145, Guardians +120

Guardians: 15-15

White Sox: 15-14

Even in a down year for the American League Central, the Chicago White Sox are reminding everyone that they are still better than the Cleveland Guardians. Even though the record might not show it right now, the White Sox can keep this train rolling on Wednesday as they go for the series win.

Chicago bounced back from a 12-9 loss on Monday with a 4-1 win over the Guardians on Tuesday by way of a homer from Gavin Sheets and a strong seven-inning outing from Lucas Giolito.

"Last night was a heartbreaker, it was tough," Giolito said. "But we're in a spot where we can self-evaluate very well. We didn't have to say anything, we didn't have to have a meeting. We didn't have to have anything after that game. We knew coming in today what we needed to improve, what we needed to do."

Tim Anderson added three hits for what's already been a tremendous start to his season at the plate. Anderson leads the White Sox in batting average, RBI, and is tied for the team lead in homers. Of all people to expect be the offensive catalyst with this crazy top of the lineup, it's Anderson.

"That saying is true, you know: ‘The worst you can do is lose today because you're still moping about yesterday,'" manager Tony La Russa said. "So clean the slate, and guys were ready to play, the clubhouse was really good before the game."

The Guardians should be commended for even having as decent a start as they have, going .500 through 30 games and knowing it could've been a lot worse. They're not too bad, honestly. It's just the pitching isn't quite there yet. The batting order, however, seems to have a sign of life beyond Jose Ramirez, with Steven Kwan off to a tremendous start.

"We're never out of it," Cleveland's Austin Hedges said. "It's awesome. It's really fun to watch. We're relentless. Even when we're losing, we're putting a lot of pressure on them."

One bright spot might be Amed Rosario. He's gone 6-for-9 in the last two games and when his bat is cooking, that's going to be a big help if the Guardians want to contend for the division.

“Yes, because last year when we had him in center early, he didn’t swing the bat,” Guardians manager Terry Francona said about the correlation between defense and offense. “Some of that is maybe April in Ohio, but he’s starting to heat up and that’s good.”

The Guardians are sending Aaron Civale to the mound against Vince Velasquez, and while Civale is in dire need for a win to get back on track, I'm feeling the White Sox to take the series. I don't think it's too wild to say the White Sox should dominate this one. White Sox win 6-0

Guardians are 6-2 during May and 23-14 in the month over the past three seasons.

Guardians are 12-16 the past three seasons when a road underdog between +125 and +175.

White Sox are 3-10 against division opponents this season.

White Sox are 79-48 at home the past three seasons.

Guardians:
Myles Straw (R) CF
Steven Kwan (L) RF
Jose Ramirez (S) 3B
Owen Miller (R) 2B
Josh Naylor (L) 1B
Franmil Reyes (R) DH
Amed Rosario (R) LF
Andres Gimenez (L) SS
Austin Hedges (R) C
SP - Aaron Civale

White Sox:
Tim Anderson (R) SS
Yoan Moncada (S) 3B
Jose Abreu (R) 1B
Luis Robert (R) CF
Yasmani Grandal (S) C
Gavin Sheets (L) DH
AJ Pollock (R) LF
Adam Engel (R) RF
Josh Harrison (R) 2B
SP - Vince Velasquez

Batting average: Owen Miller -- .333

Hits: Jose Ramirez -- 33

Home runs: Jose Ramirez -- 7

RBI: Jose Ramirez -- 30

Wins: Three tied -- 2

Saves: Emmanuel Clase -- 6

ERA: Cal Quantrill -- 3.93

Batting average: Tim Anderson -- .347

Hits: Tim Anderson -- 35

Home runs: Three tied -- 4

RBI: Three tied -- 12

Wins: Reynaldo Lopez -- 4

Saves: Liam Hendriks -- 9

ERA:  Michael Kopech -- 0.93