Cease, White Sox Should Handle Twins Today

Twins vs. White Sox, 7:15 ET

If the White Sox want any hope of making the playoffs, this is the series they will need to take and one that they really need to focus on this week. The thing is, though, the Twins can’t really afford to lose these games either. If you want a playoff atmosphere, you should get it.

The Twins are sending out Tyler Mahle to try and win this game for them. Mahle came over from the Reds at the deadline and he was in a decent position while playing for the Reds. It can’t be a situation where many people are passionate about pitching for the Reds, so I thought he might lack motivation. Since he has joined the Twins though, he instantly got into a playoff race after being on one of the worst teams in baseball. He has three starts for the Twins. In the first two, he went 12 innings and allowed just four earned runs. The bad news is that in his last outing, he left early with shoulder fatigue. That was back on August 17th though so this seems like he should be well rested enough that it won’t be an issue today.

Dylan Cease is one of the few White Sox pitchers that I’ve been impressed with this year. He and Johnny Cueto might be keeping the team in the playoff race despite the shortcomings of their hitters and other pitching peers. Cease has been stellar for most of the year with a 2.27 ERA and he is in the top 5 for strikeouts on the season. Always exciting to see someone be able to keep the ball out of play and keep hitters off-balance. He turned in one of his best performances of the month in his last outing against the Diamondbacks, going eight innings and allowing just two earned runs. Both were solo home runs. Ultimately the Sox lost that game, as they have lost three of his past five starts. He had one outing against the Twins this year, a seven-inning start where he allowed just one hit and no runs.

You can either take the guy that is coming off of the injured list, or the guy who has been consistently good for the entire season. Yes, the Twins could be a better team, but I think the White Sox have the edge in this game with Cease throwing. Play the White Sox at -130.

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