Pittsburgh Pirates at Chicago White Sox Betting Preview – 8/31

Aug 31, 2021

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Game: Pittsburgh Pirates at Chicago White Sox

Time: 8:10 p.m. ET

Starting Pitchers: Bryse Wilson vs. Lucas Giolito

Odds: Pirates +280, White Sox -295

The Pirates were never really in any race the entire 2021 season and it shows in their record. Pittsburgh has been exceptionally bad on the road where they are just 20-45 overall. The Bucs are deep into their rebuild for next season, which seems like what they have been doing for the past several seasons now.

Tonight, they travel to Chicago to take on the NL Central Division-leading White Sox. Chicago has the largest division lead in baseball and wins roughly 64 percent of their home games. They also do a good job of beating teams that they should. The White Sox are 47-23 against teams with a record below .500.

Chicago is a huge -295 favorite not just because they are playing Pittsburgh, but also because Lucas Giolito will start on the mound. Giolito is 9-9 on the season with a 3.68 ERA. He has been very good as of late. In eight of his last 10 starts, Giolito has allowed two or fewer earned runs. He will face a Pittsburgh offense that is arguably the worst in baseball.

Pittsburgh has ranked dead last in runs per game (3.59) for most of the 2021 season. The Pirates are also last in a number of other offensive statistical categories like OPS (.665). Every once in a while, the Pirates bats come alive as they did in a recent 11-7 win over St. Louis. Otherwise, the Bucs offense remains relatively quiet. Taking out the Cardinals game, Pittsburgh has averaged just over three runs in its last nine games.

On the other end, Chicago is one of the best lineups in baseball. Only four teams score more runs per game (5.03) than the White Sox. Over the past 15 days, Chicago has been even better. Only one team has scored more runs over that period. The White Sox have scored in double digits in three of their last four games averaging a ridiculous 10 runs per their last four.

Pirates’ pitchers have struggled all season long, but Bryse Wilson has been somewhat of a bright spot. He is just 2-5 on the season because of a lack of offensive support. His ERA is 4.35, but over his last five starts that ERA drops to 3.60. Wilson doesn’t walk many batters, but he doesn’t always go that deep into games either. He has only gone six innings in one of his last six starts.

With Chicago such a huge favorite on the money line, the run line may have more value. The White Sox -1.5 is priced at -150. Each of Chicago’s last five wins has been by multiple runs. With the White Sox putting up ridiculous numbers in their last four games, a win over one of the worst teams in baseball by multiple runs seems very likely.

The total for tonight’s game is 9. Pittsburgh and its weak offense have gone Under in 10 of their last 15. The White Sox offense can go off at any time as bettors have seen in the last four games.