Game: New York Yankees at Chicago White Sox
Time: 7:15 PM ET
Starting Pitchers: Andrew Heaney vs. Lance Lynn
Odds: Yankees +145, White Sox -164
If you build it, they will come. If you remember the quote – which actually said “he will come” – then you remember the Kevin Costner movie Field of Dreams. Tonight, the Yankees and White Sox will play a game on that field of dreams in Dyerville, Iowa. It marks the first MLB game ever played in the Hawkeye State.
It will also come down to the pitching matchup. Lance Lynn takes the mound for Chicago and he is enjoying what is probably his best season as a major league pitcher. Lynn is 10-3 with a 2.05 ERA this season. He is so good in 2021 that opposing hitters are only batting .200 against him.
Lynn hasn’t been involved in the decision in his last two starts, but the White Sox are 5-1 the last six times he has taken the mound to start a game. In those six starts, Lynn allowed more than one earned run just once. That was in a White Sox win over Cleveland.
The White Sox right-hander will face a Yankees lineup that is struggling. It is strong, but for some reason, New York just can’t seem to get its offense going. Last year’s AL batting champ DJ LeMahieu and former AL Rookie of the Year Aaron Judge are both in slumps. A number of other Yankees are on the injured list including recent acquisition Anthony Rizzo who was off to a good start after coming over from the Cubs.
With a lineup as strong as New York’s is on paper, you would expect a bit more than a mediocre .237 batting average as a team. Even the AL East last-place Orioles have a better collective batting average (.239) than the Yankees. Lynn should be able to keep New York in check and continue his success.
The Yankees will start trade deadline acquisition Andrew Heaney against one of the strongest lineups in all of baseball. Heaney has had a solid career, but he has underachieved for the most part and continues to do so in 2021. Heaney is just 7-8 on the season with a 5.45 ERA. In his last three starts covering 16 innings, Heaney gave up 11 earned runs. He’s a bit over his career ERA of 4.61 and that is probably due to his giving up too many home runs. His career home run rate is 1.57 homers per nine innings.
To make matters worse for Heaney and the Yankees, he will go up against a lineup that is in the top 10 in runs per game (4.94), batting average (.249), on-base percentage (.330), and OPS (.746). Stars Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert are back in the lineup and the White Sox do very well when facing left-handers.
Bettors should know the Yankees were listed as high as +165. That’s when sharp action kicked it back down to +145. The Under may also be in play. The Under is 11-7-2 in Lynn’s 20 starts this season and it has also hit in both of Heaney’s first two starts as a Yankee.