We mentioned yesterday that bettors might want to shy away from the Chicago White Sox with Philip Humber starting at home. They won, but hey, we’re just the messengers.
And things were looking even worse with John Danks on the mound against the Cleveland Indians Friday night. The lefty has won just two of his last 18 starts at the end of the week, and looked to have a lot of bad history going for him against the Tribe.
Luckily for Chicago, Danks is a late scratch and will head to the DL with a bum shoulder. In his place, the White Sox will recall Jose Quintana from the minors and give him the start in the first of a three-game series. Quinatna pitched well against Cleveland earlier this year, going 5 1/3 innings and giving up just one hit in a relief appearance.
“He was coming in to limit the damage and did more than that. He did great,” manager Robin Ventura told his team’s website. “He was keeping them off-balance, and he was composed.”
Chicago is favored by 1 1/2 runs, according to Bovada’s Indians vs. White Sox Betting Lines.
The White Sox are 3 1/2 games back in the AL Central, jumping out to a surprisingly good start to the season. They hold a 5-4 head-to-head lead over the Indians and have won the last two.
But Cleveland has won eight of its last ten to spring to the top of the Central, despite low expecatations to start the year.
“Nothing that these guys do surprises me,” manager Manny Acta told the team’s website. “I believe in these guys. We’ve played good ball. We’ve been doing that. We haven’t played our best baseball yet, but we’re playing good baseball.”
Jeanmar Gomez starts for the Indians and is still trying to forget about his last start against Chicago. The rookie surrendered half of his season run total in one game against the White Sox on May 9. Otherwhise, he’s been great, allowing just a run in 13 1/3 innings. He gave up just three hits in his last start, a 2-0 win over the Miami Marlins on Saturday.
“It’s been part of the maturation process,” Acta told the AP. “He doesn’t let things get to him anymore. He put (the loss to Chicago) behind him pretty quick.”
If Chicago is going to get at him again, it will probably be by the bat of Alexei Ramirez and Alejandro De Aza, who are a combined 7 for 16 against Gomez.