The White Sox have a chance in the June 2nd MLB free pick – they have a chance any time Lucas Giolito takes the mound. Oddsmakers have made Chicago a -118 favorite on Sunday, but only slightly (CLE -103). There’s been news of Giolito’s success circulating baseball, which is why you worry about the tilt at Guaranteed Rate Field being a “bandwagon game.” Nearly 85% of the public are on Chicago yet the line has dropped from a -135 open – time to take Cleveland in this one?
Indians Try to Salvage the Split
There’s still a lot of baseball to be played this year, but at this point it’s looking like a lost cause as Cleveland has fallen to 10.5 GB from the Twins in the Central. A sweep over Chicago this weekend would have gone a long way but the Tribe dropped a 4-10 contest Thursday and a 1-6 decision on Friday before finally tallying a 5-2 win on Saturday. Cleveland has a tough pitching matchup in the June 2nd MLB free pick vs. Giolito, who they’ve hit just .174 against. Francisco Lindor is 3-9 vs. the Sox starter and Jose Ramirez has gone 2-8 with a HR vs. the right-hander. Lindor leads Cleveland with a .441 OBP over the past week.
Do the Indians have their own pitching edge on Sunday? Not one White Sox batter has faced Cleveland starter Zach Plesac and with good reason as he’s making just his second career start. The right-hander was thrown into the fire in his debut, facing a tough Boston offense but holding them to just 1 ER on 4 hits through 5.1 IP. Plesac is from Crown Point, IN which is less than an hour from Chicago so he should be surrounded by a lot of friends and family for this one.
Chicago Turns to Giolito for the W
Lucas Giolito looks like a budding superstar the way he has pitched lately. He has gotten the win in five straight starts to push his record to 7-1 on the season with just a 2.85 ERA. Giolito tied a career high with 10 K’s vs. the Royals last time out despite struggling through a 3 run 1st. The right hander persevered to go 8 innings in that tilt as the White Sox won 4-3 as huge -168 favorites. 5 straight Giolito starts have gone ‘under’ the total and oddsmakers are taking note as the June 2nd MLB free pick O/U is just 8. Giolito shut out Cleveland over 7.1 IP when he faced them on May 7th.
What do the Chicago bats have in store for Sunday? They’ve never faced Plesac who is making just his 2nd career start. The White Sox have scored 6+ runs in 3 of the last 4 games but were held to 2 runs and just 4 hits in Saturday’s loss. Chicago batters have hit just 4 HR over the past week so runs may be again be at a premium in this tilt.
June 2nd MLB Free Pick Betting
It seems like the Chicago line should be higher and a falling off point is probably coming for Giolito sooner rather than later. It’s also possible he dominates again on Sunday. That being said, it’s hard to imagine either offense mustering too much as the teams wrap up a 4-game series so a low scoring game is the play.
MLB Free Pick: Indians / White Sox *Under* 8
