Free Picks: Chicago White Sox vs Detroit Tigers

The Chicago White Sox (12-9) will host the lowly Detroit Tigers (7-16) to begin a three-game series on Tuesday, representing the first action between these American League Central foes in 2021. The White Sox currently find themselves near the top of the division, as expected, while the Tigers have quickly sunken to the depths of the division … also as expected. The Tigers are searching for improvements all over the field, and they’ve lost 10 of their past 11 games. The White Sox, meanwhile, have won six of seven.

The past week or so has been one to forget for White Sox ace Lucas Giolito. Following the worst start of his MLB career last Monday — an eight-hit, eight-run stinker in one inning against the Red Sox — Giolito had to have his ensuing start pushed back due to sustaining a cut on one of his fingers.

He needs a get-right game to bounce back, lower his 5.79 ERA and begin to get into a groove. Pitching at home against the Tigers, the coldest team in the majors, might be the perfect recipe.

Giolito and the White Sox stand as -222 money line favorites (10Bet) among Tuesday’s MLB picks, while the Tigers lag as +180 underdogs. As it stands right now, this game is tied for the widest odds margin among the 15 games to be played on Tuesday, and it’s pretty clear why.

Detroit hasn’t made a very compelling case for how they can beat anyone lately, being outscored 45-20 in their current 1-10 skid. On one hand, a lot of the games have been close, including four that were decided by just one run. On the other hand, the Tigers’ offense has produced fewer than two runs per game in that stretch.

Chicago’s biggest question mark is Giolito, given that he hasn’t pitched in over a week and is coming off such a dreadful outing. But to walk into work Tuesday night and face this Tigers lineup? He’s probably feeling pretty good about that. And let’s not forget that Giolito is still the ace of this staff, even if it hasn’t looked that way very often in the early stages of this season. He was their opening day starter, he did throw a no-hitter last season and he’s a 26-year-old former first-round pick who has already finished inside the top-10 Cy Young voting twice.

In two outings against Detroit last year, Giolito was 1-0 with seven hits and three runs allowed (2.13 ERA) and 20 strikeouts. He knows how to attack this lineup.

As for the White Sox lineup, they know how to attack the opposition. Chicago has scored 27 runs during its four-game winning streak and, as a reminder, that’s more than Detroit has scored in its past 11 games. We’re just not going to overthink this BetPicks prediction; the White Sox might not offer a lucrative payout, but they are certainly the team that should win this one.

• Chicago is 7-3 on the money line in its past 10
• The OVER has cashed in four of the White Sox’s past five games
• Detroit is 1-9 on the money line in its past 10
• The UNDER has cashed in eight of the Tigers’ past 10 games