Chicago Cubs vs. Chicago White Sox 6/19/19: Starting Lineups, Matchup Preview, Betting Odds
Contents
TV & Radio Section
Chicago Cubs vs. Chicago White Sox, 6/19/19 8:05 PM ET Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL, TV: CHC (ABC 7), CWS (NBCSCH) Radio: CHC (670 The Score), CWS (WGN 720)
Matchup Preview
The Cross-Town Classic is in full swing as the Cubs and Sox gear up for the second game of the series tonight at 8:05 PM ET tonight. Last night ended in the Sox winning 3-1 on a homer hit by former Cub Eloy Jimenez. The Cubs will be sending left-handed Jon Lester to the mound. He struggled in his last start, giving up 3 home runs (6 runs total) in five innings. It’ll be the hot Lucas Giolito for the Sox tonight.
Lester hasn’t seemed the same since coming off the IL earlier in the season. He’s 4-5 through 10 starts since being deemed good to go. Weirdly enough, he was pitching phenomenally in his last start against the Dodgers until a ground ball up the middle came back and hit him square in the leg. He immediately gave up a home run in the next at bat and then allowed two more in the rest of the inning/the next.
Giolito, on the other hand, has tossed the ball extraordinary lately. He’s 9-0 in his last 11 starts, and has won hist last 8 starts. In that 8-start period, he’s posted an ERA of 0.94 with 65 Ks in 57 1/3 innings pitched. In one start at Wrigley in his career, he went 5.2 innings giving up 3 runs and allowing 7 walks
Chicago Cubs Starting Lineup
1. Kyle Schwarber (L) LF
2. Kris Bryant (R) 3B
3. Anthony Rizzo (L) 1B
4. Javier Baez (R) SS
5. Jason Heyward (L) RF
6. Addison Russell (R) 2B
7. Victor Caratini (S) C
8. Albert Almora Jr. (R) CF
9. Jon Lester (L) P
Cubs Analysis
4-6 in their last 10, the Cubs are not playing to their full potential lately. They remain just 0.5 games behind the Brewers, but as the Brewers are just 5-5 in their last 10, it would have been an excellent time to pull ahead. Hitting has been spotty and the pitching just hasn’t been something to count on. Hendricks moving to the IL for shoulder soreness also doesn’t help. He’ll likely miss 3-4 starts and come back after the All-Star break.
Bryant, Heyward, and Schwarber were the only Cubs to produce hits yesterday. Bryant went 3-4, Heyward 2-4, and Schwarber 1-4 with a HR accounting for the Cubs’ only run. Over the last week, Bryant and Contreras are the only Cubs hitting over .300 (Bryant .471 avg, Contreras .455 avg). Baez has recorded 2 hits in 6 ABs against Giolito with one home run.
In his last six outing, Lester has posted an ERA of 7.59. Although struggling, the veteran left-hander has shown he can turn it around at any time. In 17 career starts against the White Sox, Lester is 9-6 with an ERA of 4.13. Jose Abreau is hitting .400 off of him with a home run, and James McCann is 2-6 against him.
Chicago White Sox Starting Lineup
1. Leury Garcia (S) CF
2. Tim Anderson (R) SS
2. Yoan Moncada (S) 3B
3. Jose Abreu (R) 1B
4. Eloy Jimenez (R) LF
5. James McCann (R) C
6. Yoan Moncada (S) 3B
7. Ryan Cordell (R) RF
8. Yolmer Sanchez (S) 2B
9. Lucas Giolito (R) P
White Sox Analysis
The Sox have put together a nice year so far, surpassing expectations at an almost .500 record (35-35) past the halfway point of June. They picked a tough year to do it, though, as the Twins currently lead the AL Central with an astounding record of 48-24. In their last 10, the Sox are 6-4.
In the last week, Abreu, Jimenez, Garcia, McCann, and Anderson are all hitting above .300. For the first time in a while, the Sox are a fun team to watch offensively. Abreua currently leads the roster in HRs and RBIs with 17 long balls and 54 runs batted in. Tim Anderson has an impressive average of .314 on the year.
Giolito has been lights out in his last 8 starts. To reiterate, he’s on an 8 game winning streak with an ERA of 0.94 through those 8 starts. He hasn’t had much exposure to hitters in the Cubs lineup, but he’s held Heyward, Rizzo, and Russell, and Contreras to no hits in what ranges from 2 to 5 ABs.
Cubs vs White Sox Betting Odds
The line is currently set at Cubs -135 White Sox +115 after opening at Cubs -148 Sox +128. Despite being at Wrigley, I still think the Sox will find a way to emerge victorious in this one. Giolito’s stuff has been incredible lately, and the White Sox bats have been on fire. On top of that, Lester’s struggles don’t leave the Cubs with a hopeful feeling in this one. The over/under is currently set at 7 runs after opening at 8. I’d jump on this movement and grab the over at 7 runs, just because it’s a pretty good value to take and I think we’ll see the two teams put up upwards of 7 runs total.
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