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The Chicago White Sox and the Cleveland Guardians meet in an AL Central division doubleheader in MLB action from Progressive Field on Wednesday.
The Chicago White Sox will look to pick up a key division win after failing to complete the sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays with a 9-3 loss in their last game. Tim Anderson leads the Whiet Sox with 11 hits along with 3 doubles and a .393 batting average while Luis Robert and Andrew Vaughn each have a pair of home runs. Eloy Jimenez also has a team-high 7 RBIs while the aforementioned Vaughn has 6 RBIs. Dallas Keuchel will start game one and is 1-0 with a 5.40 ERA and 5 strikeouts while Jimmy Lambert will start game two and is 0-1 with a 6.00 ERA and 1 strikeout this season.
The Cleveland Guardians will look to rebound after being swept by the San Francisco Giants following an 8-1 loss to the Giants last time out. Jose Ramirez leads the Guardians with 16 hits, 3 home runs and 15 RBIs while Oscar Mercado has 3 home runs of his own. Owen Miller has a .500 batting average with 7 doubles as well this season. Shane Bieber will start game one and is 0-0 with a 2.70 ERA and 9 strikeouts this season while Triston McKenzie will start game two and is 0-1 with a 2.57 ERA and 7 strikeouts this season.
I get the case to be made for the White Sox as many people expect the White Sox to run away with the AL Central this season. However, that’s over 145-150 games away and we’re in the second week of the season. And right now, I give the edge on the mound in both matchups here to Cleveland. I trust Shane Bieber a heck of a lot more than Dallas Keuchel in game one and I like Triston McKenzie a lot more than Jimmy Lambert in game two. I think this is a golden opportunity for Cleveland to take a couple of division games early on in the year, so give me the Guardians for the double-header sweep.