Toronto Blue Jays vs. Chicago White Sox Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 6/21/2022

Time: 8:10 p.m. ET

Venue: Guaranteed Rate Field, Chicago, IL

Where to watch: SNET-1, NBC Sports Chicago

DraftKings: Blue Jays -130, White Sox +110

BetMGM: Blue Jays -135, White Sox +110

Caesars: Blue Jays -130, White Sox +115

Blue Jays: 38-29

White Sox: 32-33

I'm far too early from even thinking about this, but I'm going to put it out in the universe early and see if it can change course in due time: I'm getting pretty annoyed with Jose Berrios. I don't know what it is, but he's certainly not the difference maker I think the Toronto Blue Jays hoped he would be. Now, far be it from me to complain about Berrios being a 5-3 pitcher, but it's just the matter that he doesn't pitch up to his competition, and giving up six runs and only striking out one in four innings against the Chicago White Sox on Monday is not a good look.

Berrios' performance put the Blue Jays too much into a hole and allowed the Chicago White Sox to win 8-7 and take the series opener despite Toronto's best efforts at rallying int he later innings. Chicago scored a run in the first five innings and took an 8-2 lead by rocking Berrios, who they've seen plenty of when he was with the Minnesota Twins.

But the Blue Jays not being able to take advantage of that big win in the series finale Sunday against the New York Yankees seems like a slap in the face of what the Blue Jays are trying to do. And for a group that should be in playoff contention, they can't be getting efforts like this from one of their top pitchers.

“He was missing arm-side, so all his breaking pitches were on the heart of the zone,” manager Charlie Montoyo said, “and he paid the price for it.”

“It was a rough night for me," Berríos said.

Toronto did a lot of good things late, but for the second straight game, it was a lot of too little, too late. The Blue Jays scored five in the final three innings, including a two-run shot from Cavan Biggio that cut the lead to 8-7, but Toronto couldn't do anything more after that.

“It happened again. Our offense came back, but it's tough to do that every night when the other team's scoring that many runs,” Montoyo said.

But perhaps as we look at this from a broader lens, this could be the turning point for the White Sox to turn things around and be better than their record indicates. Tim Anderson returned to the lineup after missing almost a month with a strained hamstring and had two hits. The White Sox's offense goes through Anderson and they surely missed the All-Star and potential batting champ in the lineup.

“I was seeing the ball real well, so if I just stay right there where I'm at, just continue to keep pushing, I'll be in a good spot,” Anderson said.

But the night belonged to Andrew Vaughn, who went 4-for-4 and finished a triple shy of the cycle and hit a solo homer as part of that big-time fifth inning.

“One through nine, we can all hit. Even the guys on the bench can all hit,” Vaughn said. “If we start stringing that together, then good things will happen.”

The Blue Jays will try and get back on track with Kevin Gausman taking the mound on Tuesday. Even though the former Giants pitcher is off to a shaky 5-6 start, his ERA at 3.21 is still pretty good all things considered. Toronto will be taking on Dylan Cease, who comes in at 5-3 with a 2.91 ERA.

Anderson back in the lineup is going to do wonders for the Chicago batting order and adds another dynamic that they've lacked. But I don't think Gausman will let things get too crazy for Toronto. He'll need to pitch well for the Jays, who have lost four of five, to settle down and get a win. I think he can do that. Blue Jays win 6-4

Blue Jays are 41-30 as a road favorite the past three seasons.

Blue Jays are 9-7 this season against AL Central teams.

White Sox are 9-18 as an underdog this season.

Blue Jays:
George Springer (R) CF
Bo Bichette (R) SS
Vladimir Guerrero (R) 1B
Alejandro Kirk (R) C
Teoscar Hernandez (R) DH
Santiago Espinal (R) 2B
Matt Chapman (R) 3B
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (R) LF
Raimel Tapia (L) RF
SP - Kevin Gausman

White Sox:
Tim Anderson (R) SS
Andrew Vaughn (R) DH
Luis Robert (R) CF
Jose Abreu (R) 1B
AJ Pollock (R) LF
Jake Burger (R) 3B
Reese McGuire (L) C
Adam Engel (R) RF
Josh Harrison (R) 2B
SP - Dylan Cease

Batting average: Alejandro Kirk -- .307

Home runs: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. -- 17

RBI: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. -- 41

Wins: Alek Manoah -- 8

ERA: Alek Manoah -- 2.00

Batting average: Andrew Vaughn -- .330

Home runs: Jose Abreu -- 9

RBI: Jose Abreu -- 32

Wins: Dylan Cease -- 5

ERA: Dylan Cease -- 2.91