White Sox vs. Blue Jays: Picks, predictions, how to watch Thursday’s game

The Chicago White Sox and Toronto Blue Jays square off on Thursday with first pitch set for 3:07 p.m. ET. The game takes place at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario and will be available to watch on ESPN. The White Sox will start Johnny Cueto with Alek Manoah taking the mound for the Blue Jays.

Chicago (23-25) lost four of their last five games as they’ve dipped back below .500 going into Thursday. Cueto made three starts since joining the White Sox with two great outings and one where he struggled. He threw 6 scoreless innings in his first two outings and gave up 5 runs to the Chicago Cubs in his last time out. Chicago’s offense ranks 28th in on-base percentage despite Tim Anderson coming in with a .393 OBP.

Toronto (29-20) will go for their second consecutive sweep on Thursday afternoon as they head into this matchup with a seven-game winning streak. Manoah has been fantastic for the Blue Jays with a 1.77 ERA going into start No. 10 of 2022. He has not allowed more than 2 earned runs in any of his starts this season. The Blue Jays rank in the middle of the pack in most of the major team batting statistics, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. crushed a home run last night to take the team lead with 10 homers.

White Sox vs. Blue Jays

Pitchers: Johnny Cueto vs. Alek Manoah
First pitch: 3:07 p.m. ET
White Sox local broadcast: NBC Sports Chicago
Blue Jays local broadcast: Sportsnet
Live stream: WatchESPN, ESPN app

Odds, picks & predictions

Run line: Blue Jays -1.5 (+100)
Run total: 8
Moneyline odds: Blue Jays -200, White Sox +175

Moneyline pick: Blue Jays -200

Manoah has been unhittable through the first two months of the MLB season as the 24-year-old pitcher appears to be a future star in this league. It seems unlikely the White Sox will score more than 2 runs over the first six or seven innings and if that’s the case, the Blue Jays should be in a great position to keep this winning streak going.

Player prop pick: Alek Manoah Under 5.5 strikeouts (-110)

For as good as Manoah has been in 2022, the strikeout numbers are not among the elite strikeout pitchers in terms of K/9. He threw fewer than 5 strikeouts in three consecutive starts before going for 9 K’s in his most recent start. Manoah will go up against a White Sox lineup that averages the fourth-fewest strikeouts per game.

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