The Chicago White Sox (29-25) are fighting to get back to the top of the division, winning two in a row heading into Friday’s road matchup with the Detroit Tigers (25-28) following a season-high seven-game losing streak.
Meanwhile, the Tigers will try to move one step closer to the .500 mark when they send Jordan Zimmermann to the hill as minus-140 home betting favorites (bet $140 to win $100) at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark.
Zimmermann (7-2, 2.52 ERA) got off to a great start for Detroit, winning his first five starts by posting a stellar 0.55 ERA after inking a five-year, $110 free-agent deal in the offseason. However, he has struggled lately, going 2-2 with a 4.88 ERA in his past four outings and dealing with a groin injury that forced him to miss his last start.
The Tigers have dropped five of six overall following a 5-4 loss to the New York Yankees on Thursday in a makeup game. They will face Chicago for the first time this year after going 10-9 in the 2015 season series, according to the Odds Shark MLB Database, including 6-4 at home.
The over has gone 6-4 in the past 10 meetings at Comerica Park, but the under is 5-1-1 in the last seven between the teams overall.
The way the White Sox have been scoring lately, the total could be headed under here as well. They have averaged 3.3 runs in their last nine games and totaled 17 less than Detroit has scored this year. However, Chicago’s Carlos Rodon (2-4, 4.24) has seen his team average 6.5 runs in the previous four he has started, despite losing three of them.
Still, Rodon walked away with three no-decisions during that stretch and has managed to go 1-2 in his past six outings, even though the Sox have lost five of them.
The 23-year-old southpaw has split his last two starts, both coming against the Kansas City Royals, giving up three runs and 14 hits in 11.2 innings with four walks and seven strikeouts. The over is 3-1 in his last four starts, after the under went 5-0-1 in his first six.
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