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The Cleveland Guardians and Chicago White Sox square off for a doubleheader on Saturday with first pitch of Game 1 set for 1:10 p.m. ET. The game takes place at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago and will be available to watch on ESPN+. Triston McKenzie (7-6, 3.20 ERA) will take the mound for Cleveland, while Johnny Cueto (4-4, 2.80 ERA) gets the starting nod for Chicago.
The Guardians (47-44) have won their last four games going back to before the All-Star break. They picked up the win on Friday as their All-Star infielder Andre Gimenez clubbed a two-run home run in the first inning to give Cleveland an early 4-0 lead. It was an easy win from that point on for the Guardians. McKenzie will make his 17th start of the season and his second against Chicago. In the first, he pitched 4.1 innings and gave up one hit and one earned run while striking out four in a no-decision.
The White Sox (46-47) had won five of their last six games heading into the All-Star break but lost their first game coming out of it. They only mustered two runs in the losing effort with both coming in the sixth inning. It has been a season that has fallen below expectations for Chicago as they now sit 3.5 games back of the Minnesota Twins in the AL Central. Cueto will be making his 12th start of the season. In his last outing, he pitched six innings and gave up seven hits and one earned run to earn his fourth win of the season.
Guardians vs. White Sox
Pitchers: Triston McKenzie vs. Johnny Cueto
First pitch: 1:10 p.m. ET
Guardians local broadcast: Bally Sports Great Lakes
White Sox local broadcast: NBC Sports Chicago
Live stream: WatchESPN, ESPN app with an ESPN+ subscription
Odds, picks & predictions
Run Line: White Sox -1.5
Run total: 9
Moneyline odds: Guardians -105, White Sox -115
Moneyline pick: Guardians -105
Initially I was leaning more towards Chicago in this one because I expected them to bounce back. Then I looked a little more into how McKenzie has done recently, and the edge promptly shifted back to the Guardians. He hasn’t given up an earned run in his last three starts. The All-Star break that could’ve thrown him off, but McKenzie has given up just nine hits and no earned runs in his last 21 innings of work. Advantage Cleveland.
Player prop pick: Tristan McKenzie over 5.5 strikeouts (-135)
Over his last three starts, McKenzie has struck out a total of 23 batters. In his last start, he struck out 12 and gave up only five hits. McKenzie has been electric recently, and that continues as he punches out at least six on Saturday.
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