Tuesday features a battle of AL Central rivals as the Chicago White Sox (1-2) travel to Progressive Field to take on the Cleveland Indians (2-1). After rain postponed their game on Monday, this will be the first game of a doubleheader on Tuesday.
The nightcap is considered the makeup game in this one, so we will focus on the first game, where first pitch is set for 3:40 pm ET. In that matchup, the White Sox will send Dylan Cease to the mound to square off with the Indians’ Aaron Civale.
The Indians come into this one as the favorite with a money line of -120. The White Sox boasts a money line of +110, and the over/under for total runs scored sits at 9.5.
White Sox Tapping into Young Talent
It is undeniable that the White Sox have some of the best young talent in the major leagues, but getting them acclimated to the big leagues and finding consistency is what manager Rick Renteria is trying to get out of his young squad.
In their first series, the Twins reminded them why the AL Central goes through Minnesota, but the White Sox still have a lot of talent and can make a push at a playoff spot. One of the most talented youngsters on the White Sox roster is Luis Robert. He got off to a nice start over the weekend going 4 for 11 with a home run, a double, 2 runs scored and 2 runs batted in.
One thing to look for is the health of outfielder Eloy Jimenez. On Sunday, the outfielder left the game early after dealing with light-headedness. While he certainly could be good to go for Tuesday’s game, it is worth keeping an eye on when lineups come out. Last season, Jimenez hit .267/.315/.828 with 31 home runs, 79 runs batted in, and 69 runs scored.
Another young star the White Sox are counting on will be taking the mound Tuesday in Dylan Cease. Last season, Cease got his first taste of the big leagues starting 14 games for the White Sox. In that time, he went 4-7 with a 5.79 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, and struck out 81 in 73 innings. He will hope to improve on those numbers in 2020.
Indians Hoping to Reclaim AL Cental
While most of the focus has been on the Twins and White Sox, the Indians quietly had a nice opening series and still have one of the better rotations in baseball and stars in the lineup.
One of those stars is infielder Jose Ramirez. After getting off to a slow start last year, Ramirez had an excellent opening weekend as the Indians took two of three from the Royals. Ramirez went 5 for 12 with 2 home runs, 5 runs batted in, and 4 runs scored.
On the pitching side, Adam Civale will get the start for the Indians. Like his counterpart Dylan Cease, the 25-year-old Civale got his first taste of the big leagues last year going 3-4 in 10 starts with a 2.34 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and struck out 46 in 57.2 innings pitched.
Taking The Indians At Home
These teams are similar in this one as they are both relying on young pitchers making their first starts of the season, and they both have offenses that are capable of running up runs in a hurry.
With that in mind, I am giving the advantage to the more veteran team who happens to be the home team. The Indians were an impressive 49-32 at home last season (while the White Sox were 33-48 on the road), and I see that trend continuing this year. For my money, I am taking the Indians at -120.
