by Chuck Sommers
Monday, Aug 16, 2021
Game time: 8:10 p.m. ET
Venue: Guaranteed Rate Field, Chicago, IL
Where to watch: NBCSCA, NBCSCH
Season-to-date
Athletics: 68-50 (2nd place, AL West)
White Sox: 68-50 (1st place, AL Central)
Recent form
Athletics: Lost two of three after winning five straight
White Sox: Lost four of five
Projected lineup
Athletics:
Mark Canha (R) LF
Starling Marte (R) CF
Matt Olson (L) 1B
Yan Gomes (R) DH
Sean Murphy (R) C
Matt Chapman (R) 3B
Stephen Piscotty (R) RF
Tony Kemp (L) 2B
Vimael Machin (L) SS
White Sox:
Tim Anderson (R) SS
Cesar Hernandez (S) 2B
Jose Abreu (R) 1B
Eloy Jimenez (R) LF
Andrew Vaughn (R) RF
Yoan Moncada (S) DH
Luis Robert (R) CF
Danny Mendick (R) 3B
Seby Zavala (R) C
Projected starting pitchers: Chris Bassitt (OAK) vs. Reynaldo Lopez (CWS)
Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Athletics -120, White Sox +100
BetMGM: Athletics -120, White Sox +100
FanDuel: Athletics -120, White Sox +102
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Athletics - White Sox preview
The Chicago White Sox and Oakland Athletics will continue their three-game series Tuesday when the clubs meet at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago.
At time of publishing, Game 1 of the three-game set is still going on Monday night.
As we mentioned in our series opener preview, this is a matchup of which team can get back on track first. The first-place White Sox, leading the Cleveland Indians with a 10-game lead for the division lead in the AL Central.
The White Sox showed against the New York Yankees that they are never out of a game. Chicago nearly pulled off two comebacks on the Yankees this weekend after a come-from-behind win in the Field of Dreams game on Thursday.
August has been kind to the White Sox, most notably AL MVP Jose Abreu. The White Sox slugger, who leads the team with 24 home runs, has a .346 batting average and has hit six homers in the month. After a 4-for-5 game on Saturday, he did come down to earth going 1-for-3 on Sunday.
The White Sox will turn to 27-year-old Reynaldo Lopez for his third start of the season. The reliever-turned-starter pitched three innings and allowed no runs on one hit in his last start, Aug. 11 against the Minnesota Twins. He boasts a 1.35 ERA for the season.
Oakland is hoping to erase their disappointing series loss to the last-place Texas Rangers. As of Monday, the A’s trail the Houston Astros by 2.5 games for first place in the AL West.
One player who hasn’t been a disappointment is trade deadline acquisition Starling Marte. In 16 games since coming over from the Miami Marlins, Marte has batted .366 with 11 RBI. That stretch has turned into a career offensive year at the plate for the centerfielder, batting .320. The runs have come down a bit, but the A’s have benefitted with him getting on base.
A’s starter Chris Bassitt is expected to get the call. He’ll take his 12-3 record and WHIP of 1.03 to the road hill.
Betting trends
Oakland has done well against right-handed starters, going 8-1 in its last nine. The over has cashed in Oakland’s last four games, and the last four games they’ve been a favorite.
Bassitt is 3-1 against the White Sox all-time, and his teams are 3-2 all-time against the Southsiders. The over is 4-1, while the under 2-1 when Lopez starts against Oakland.
Prediction
Monday was an indication this will be a low-scoring series, at least for the first half. Interested to see how Lopez looks, but if Bassitt pitches a gem, it’s going to be hard even for the White Sox to make something happen. If it becomes a bullpen game, which we expect, Chicago is bound to squeeze this one out. White Sox win 5-4.
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Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
