The Oakland Athletics are hoping to snap a four-game losing streak on Wednesday when they continue their series with the Chicago White Sox. The good news is that the A’s are favored at home with a moneyline of -170 while the White Sox have a moneyline of +145. The game also has an over/under of 8.5 runs.
After Tuesday’s loss to the White Sox, the A’s are now 1-5 in September, and that’s after losing 10 of their last 15 games in August. Things have gotten out of control lately, with Oakland falling to third place in the AL West, seven games off the pace. However, they are still in the playoff race if they can right the ship, sitting just 3.5 games out of a Wild Card spot.
As for the White Sox, they are more or less on cruise control at this point. They have built an 11-game lead atop the AL Central and have won seven of their last ten games. Of course, since the White Sox are 7.5 games behind the Rays for the best record in the American League, no matter what they do down the stretch, they will likely face the AL West winner in the playoffs.
Flight to Dallas
Dallas Keuchel is in line to start for the White Sox on Wednesday. Things have gone downhill for the aging lefty during the second half of the season, but with two starters currently on the IL, the White Sox don’t have much of choice but to run him out there. Kuechel posted a 6.26 ERA in July and a 7.43 ERA in August before getting shelled for five earned runs over three innings in his last start, raising his season ERA to 5.22.
Meanwhile, the A’s scored 32 runs in their first four games of September but have only scored three runs over their last two games. Nobody but Matt Olson and Starling Marte are having a particularly good year for Oakland. While Mark Canha has gotten hot lately, nobody else outside of Olson and Marte has stepped up in Oakland’s hour of need.
Frankie’s Turn
The A’s hope that Frankie Montas can step up as he makes his 28th start of the season on Wednesday. Thus far, Montas is 11-9 with a 3.68 ERA and is more than capable of pitching like a frontline starter. After some inconsistencies early in the season, Montas pitched to a 2.30 ERA in July and a 2.03 ERA in August, so he’s coming on strong at the right time of the year.
Meanwhile, the White Sox have been up and down lately, scoring at least six runs in their last three wins but totaling just two runs in their two most recent losses. Jose Abreu has been good all season, with Luis Robert, Gavin Sheets, and Leury Garcia all producing over the past week. However, the Chicago lineup is surely missing something with both Tim Anderson and Adam Engel on the IL.
Stop the Count
With Montas pitching well lately and the White Sox a little short-handed, Oakland should be able to make this a low-scoring game. More importantly, the A’s should find a way to do some damage against Keuchel. Bet on the A’s to win on Wednesday and snap their losing streak.
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