Royals vs White Sox Odds, Lines & Spread (Sep. 1)

• The Royals vs White Sox odds favor Chicago as -205 moneyline favorites on Thursday, September 1, at 2:10 pm ET
• KC will give the ball to Daniel Mengden (0-0, 2.08 ERA), while Chicago will counter with Johnny Cueto (6-6, 2.98 ERA)
• Read below for the Royals vs White Sox odds and betting prediction

Time is running out quickly on a potential playoff push for the Chicago White Sox (63-66, 30-35 home). The White Sox had dropped five straight games entering play on Wednesday night, dipping three games below .500 and dropping 5.5 games behind Cleveland in the AL Central.

To make matters worse, manager Tony La Russa is away from the team getting tests for an unspecified issue, while three regulars are out of the lineup – more on that later.

Chicago dropped its series opener 9-7 against the Kansas City Royals (53-77, 21-40 away) on Tuesday, but oddsmakers aren’t expecting a repeat performance in Thursday’s series finale.

Royals vs White Sox Odds

Odds as of August 31 at Caesars Sportsbook. See available Caesars Sportsbook bonus code.

The White Sox are currently -205 moneyline favorites, in a contest that features a total of 9. First pitch is scheduled at 2:10pm ET at Guaranteed Rate Field, in Chicago, Illinois, with clear skies and 85 degree game-time temperatures in the forecast. Though there may be more interest from Royals fans as Kansas sports betting goes live today.

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Kansas City vs Chicago Probable Pitchers

Chicago, who’s price in the World Series odds is getting longer with every day that passes, will turn to Johnny Cueto to stop the bleeding. The 36-year-old had been one of the lone bright spots for the team for most of the season, until his latest outing against Arizona.

The Johnny Cueto quality start streak is over at 10 games. Just start a new streak next time out.

— Christopher Kamka (@ckamka) August 27, 2022

Cueto coughed up a season-high seven runs in 5 innings to the D-Backs, yielding two homers and five hits. He’d allowed three runs or less in all but one of his previous 18 starts, which includes two outings against the Royals.

Cueto has limited KC to three runs total over 12 innings this season, striking out 11 and walking four. Current Royals hitters are batting .244 against him over 41 at-bats, with a measly .279 OBP and .341 slugging percentage.

Mengden vs Cueto Stats

KC will counter with Daniel Mengden. The 29-year-old has spent the majority of the season in the minors at AAA Omaha, after a 2021 stint in the KBO.

Mengden boasted a 4.55 ERA in 17 minor league starts this season, and allowed two runs and five hits in his only 4.1 innings in the Majors in 2022. He’s a replacement level pitcher at best, never posting a WAR above 1.5 in six MLB seasons and owning a career K/9 rate of only 6.7.

Daniel Mengden is here in Chicago and is the expected starter for the #Royals tomorrow.

— Anne Rogers (@anne__rogers) August 31, 2022

Mengden is the kind of pitcher a fully loaded White Sox lineup could feast on, however they’re far from healthy at the moment.

Royals vs White Sox Betting Trends

All three of Luis Robert, Tim Anderson and Yoan Moncada are currently out of the Chicago lineup. The White Sox are averaging just 3.5 runs per game over the last two weeks, losing 10 of 12 contests along the way.

To make matters worse, Chicago is squandering a chance to make up ground in the playoff picture. They were swept by a Diamondbacks team that is six games below .500 over the weekend, and they’ve dropped four straight in their season series with KC. The Royals have the AL’s worst run differential but you’d never know it by how they’ve played against the White Sox lately.

.@Royals rookie Nick Pratto has been getting comfortable in the box 👀#TogetherRoyal | @n_pratto pic.twitter.com/ztku0iwVtB

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) August 31, 2022

KC smacked 13 hits including four home runs in the series opener. Rookie Nick Pratto clubbed a pair of dingers in that outing, and entered play Wednesday with eight hits in his last 17 at-bats, including three homers and 10 RBI.

Salvador Perez, the team’s most potent hitter, went deep for the 19th time on Tuesday and is 13-for-29 (.448) over his past seven games. The Royals are 10-7 versus Chicago this season, which is four more wins than they have versus anyone else in baseball.

KC vs CHW Last 10 Meetings

Royals vs White Sox Pick

Given their recent form and injuries, Chicago is an easy fade especially when you consider you can get KC at plus money to win outright.

Yes, the pitching matchup favors the White Sox, but we just saw Arizona put up a ton of production against Cueto, while the Royals managed nine hits and three runs in their previous meeting with him. The White Sox bullpen also doesn’t instil a ton of confidence. They rank bottom-10 in MLB in ERA and 25th in strand rate.

Pick: Kansas City Royals Moneyline (+175)