Anthony Kay is not someone I typically look to bet on, but I do lean towards a win for the White Sox on Tuesday with Kay drawing the start. Kay’s season has been underwhelming, posting a 4.41 ERA in his first 149 innings with his club. His xERA is even higher at 4.99, a mark sitting at the 14th percentile among MLB arms. Still, Kay draws the best possible matchup currently as the Royals are slumping heavily against southpaw pitching. In the last 30 days, Kansas City sits dead last in wOBA against lefties while posting a wRC+ of 59. Kay has faced this Royals team 3 times already this season. The first 2 resulted in 11.2 innings of 2-run ball before struggling in the 3rd matchup. With Kansas City’s current form against lefties, he is my preferred starter in this spot.
Daniel Lynch IV is set to start this game for the Royals, marking his 9th start and 55th appearance of the year. Lynch IV enters play with 10 innings and 2 earned runs allowed in his last 2 starts, but he has some shaky underlying metrics. His 11th percentile K% is amplified when stretched out into a starting role, and now he is tasked with a difficult matchup. The White Sox are crushing lefties of late, ranking 4th in wOBA with a 124 wRC+ in the last 30 days. While not a game I am rushing to bet on, I do favor Chicago in this game at current pricing.
White Sox vs Royals prediction: White Sox ML (-117) available at time of publishing. Playable to -120 odds.
