The Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago White Sox continue their three-game set on Wednesday night following a tremendous pitchers' duel in the series opener.
Robbie Ray and Carlos Rodon were dealing, but Toronto's bullpen coughed up a 1-0 lead late and Chicago pulled away with a 6-1 victory. Things won't be any easier for the Blue Jays today, as they go up against dominant right-hander Lance Lynn.
Can the underdog Blue Jays get to him behind rookie starter Alek Manoah? Find out with our best free MLB betting picks and predictions for Blue Jays vs. White Sox on June 9.
Blue Jays vs White Sox game info
• Location: Guaranteed Rate Field, Chicago, IL
• Date: Wednesday, June 9, 2021
• Time: 8:10 p.m. ET
• TV: SNet 1, NBCS-CHI
Blue Jays vs White Sox odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
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MLB Sharp Money and Line Movement Report
By Patrick EversonTwinSpires opened Chicago a -141 favorite at the outset and is out to ChiSox -155 at 2:45 p.m. ET. The White Sox are drawing 65 percent of moneyline tickets and 62 percent of moneyline dollars. The total of 8 saw a couple of price adjustments, from Over -120 to Over -109 and back to Over -120, with the Over taking 77 percent of tickets/62 percent of money.
Check out the full line movement for this gameBlue Jays vs White Sox betting preview
Starting pitchers
Alek Manoah (1-0, 3.86 ERA): Manoah followed up an impressive MLB debut, in which he struck out seven over six innings at Yankee Stadium, with a clunker. The 23-year-old allowed four runs on four hits (three of which left the yard) and lasted just 3 1-3 innings against the Marlins his last time out. Although he struck out five in the short outing, he did walk three batters.
Lance Lynn (7-1, 1.23 ERA): The righty is having a phenomenal season, allowing two earned runs or fewer in nine of his 10 starts. He has allowed zero earned runs in half of them and has the second-best strikeout-to-walk-rate of his career at 3.71. He punched out six over six innings in a win against the Tigers in his last outing.
Weather
Be sure to monitor the gametime conditions with our MLB weather info.
Key injuries
Blue Jays: George Springer OF (Out), Cavan Biggio 3B (Out), Alejandro Kirk C (Out), A.J. Cole RP (Out), Danny Jansen C (Out).
White Sox: Michael Kopech RP (Out), Billy Hamilton OF (Out).
Find our latest MLB injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The White Sox have won six of Lynn's last seven starts, winning by two-plus runs in all of those victories. Find more MLB betting trends for Blue Jays vs. White Sox.
Runline pick
A night after facing Rodon, the Blue Jays now have to go through Lynn. With the White Sox, there's not much letdown from game to game, as the club boasts a starting rotation that is second to only the Milwaukee Brewers with 7.1 WAR. When you include relievers, Chicago is the MLB leader in pitcher WAR.
And tonight's matchup really comes down to pitching, where the White Sox hold a large advantage as they aim to take the series and win for the fifth time in six games.
Lynn has been one of the American League's top starters through 10 starts, posting a 1.23 ERA and 0.92 WHIP, while holding opponents to a .171 batting average. He misses plenty of bats, has solid control, and isn't getting burned by the long ball (which is key against Toronto's heavy hitters), leading to a 3.03 FIP that's a Top-10 mark in the AL among pitchers who have thrown a minimum of 50 innings.
Manoah, meanwhile, will be making his third career start. He was sharp in his debut against the Yankees after a dominant three-start stretch in Triple-A, but he struggled his last time out and was unable to make it out of the fourth inning. Manoah's control was shaky, and that aspect of his game will need to be better tonight, as the White Sox lead the majors in on-base percentage behind the second-highest walk rate in the game.
The White Sox are a difficult assignment for any pitcher, let alone one who has only been a big-leaguer for two weeks. There's just no way to get behind a rookie starter on the road against the first-place White Sox, who have an MLB-best 24 wins and only 10 losses at home. And with Lynn going for Chicago, the White Sox offer tremendous value on the runline at plus money.
PREDICTION: White Sox -1.5 (+130)
Over/Under pick
As we expected yesterday, the White Sox's bullpen proved to be a difference in a low-scoring game that both starters were lights out in.
Chicago's 'pen went on to throw four scoreless frames after Rodon's five-inning, eight-strikeout night was complete. White Sox relievers have the best K rate in baseball, along with the lowest walk rate, and rank fifth in ERA. It makes for incredibly tough matchups for opposing teams after going through an imposing starting staff.
Toronto's offense is capable, though, as it leads the AL in homers and ranks second in the MLB in OPS. It should be able to put at least a couple of runs across the board, and that's all we believe will be needed to push the total past 8, with Chicago doing the rest of the work.
The White Sox have a number of high average/on-base guys, with four regulars hitting above .290 and sporting OBP's north of .340. They are going to get on base and that's ultimately going to lead to runs, especially against a Toronto bullpen that is banged up and shaky, sporting the fourth-highest ERA (5.15) over the last 30 days in addition to the second-highest walk rate.
PREDICTION: Over 8 (-110)
Blue Jays vs White Sox betting card
- White Sox -1.5 (+130)
- Over 8 (-110)
Picks made on 6/09/2021 at 10:54 a.m. ET
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