Back Ober To Blank White Sox

White Sox vs. Twins, 7:10 ET

If you grew up in the house with a ton of siblings or even had a very close family, you'll probably be able to relate to the AL Central this season. There is one child that is clearly the best in the household (the Guardians), but there are a few other teams that still make Mom and Dad proud. For example, the Royals and Twins are teams that you can count on. They may not be great, but they are doing well for themselves. The Tigers are the brother that has been in college for like 10 years, he isn't sure what he will major in, and he does a lot of drinking, but there is still potential. The White Sox are the disaster of the family. The one that Mom and Dad chance subjects when they are asked about? "How are the White Sox doing?" "Oh, ya know. Hey, how was that vacation you went on?"

We know the White Sox suck. They are a bad team and have very little going for them, but how about some excitement - the White Sox could make history! That's right, this 2024 team, which already started with one of the worst records in baseball history, could actually make history. Of course, that history would be them having the fewest wins for a baseball team since 1901, but it is history nonetheless. They sit with 27 wins as of this writing and the lowest total since 1901 is 36 wins. That's a .235 winning percentage. Right now, the White Sox are above that pace and have a .245 winning percentage, so maybe it won't be the lowest total, but it should be close. One guy I know has a bet on the White Sox to not win again before August 15th. Obviously they had no chance at the playoffs anyway, but they also traded away a lot of guys at the deadline. Since the break, the team has played 13 games and they lost all 13. That means they lost 17 straight games as of Friday before their next game goes final. One guy they tried to trade, who ruined it for himself, is tonight's starter Garrett Crochet. Crochet is 6-8 with a 3.23 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. Those numbers are great, especially on a bad team. He also is second in the Majors with 160 strikeouts. He just doesn't get much help from his team. He faced the Twins twice this season and both games resulted in White Sox losses. His first start, a road game, saw him allow five earned runs in four innings to the Twins. The second was a home game, and he allowed just two earned runs over five innings. 

Apr 29, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Garrett Crochet (45) delivers a pitch against the Minnesota Twins during the first inning at Guaranteed Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

The Twins, one of the siblings that has a steady job, but can't quite get that promotion they are looking for at work - you know a guy with a clear ceiling - are in the playoff hunt, but their fate will likely come down to the final weeks of the season. The Twins are 59-48 right now, which puts them 6.5 games back in the division, it isn't insurmountable, but it is also not an easy feat at this point in the season. As of today, they have the last spot in the Wild Card race and a two game lead over the closest team, the Red Sox. I wouldn't say the Twins have a ton going for them, but they have enough. Their offense is effective enough and statistically is one of the better ones in the league. Their pitching staff is middle-of-the-pack despite not having a true ace. Bailey Ober, tonight's starter, is a middle-of-the-pack type of guy. Ober is 5-1 with a 3.76 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP for the season. He's coming off one of his best starts of the season, and probably his career. He went eight innings against the Tigers and allowed just one hit. He has faced the White Sox twice this season, both times on the road. He allowed four earned runs over six innings in the first game, and three earned over six innings in the second game. 

The pitching in this game should be the clear highlight of the game. Crochet is probably going to be shut down at some point, so perhaps this is a game where they start to limit his pitching. The price isn't worth it to play the Twins, but we can play the under on the White Sox team total. Over the last 13 games, they've scored over three runs just once. I'll back them to go under 3.5 runs once again. I think this could be a play up to 1.5 or 2 units because of how well Ober has played. 

For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024