Chicago White Sox vs. Kansas City Royals – 8/28/20 MLB Pick, Odds, and Prediction

The Kansas City Royals and the Chicago White Sox meet Friday in MLB action from Guaranteed Rate Field. 

This will be the first installment of a three-game weekend series between these teams. The Royals are coming off a series versus the Cardinals. Kansas City managed a win on Tuesday but dropped the games Monday (9-3) and Wednesday (6-5) to lose the series. As for the White Sox, they played a pair of games versus the Pirates this week. Chicago took both of those matchups, 4-0 Tuesday and 10-3 Wednesday. Check back all season long for free MLB picks and MLB predictions at Sports Chat Place. 

The Royals have a few pretty solid hitters so far this year, but for the most part the lineup has been struggling. Whit Merrifield is one bright spot on the roster, carrying a .301 batting average with 20 runs, five homers and 19 RBI to his credit. Salvador Perez is hitting well also in his 22 games with a .307 BA, 10 runs and 12 RBI. There’s still plenty of room for improvement when it comes to guys like Adalberto Mondesi (.214 BA) and Alex Gordon (.172 BA), however. 

For the Friday opener, the Royals will send out lefty Danny Duffy in the start. Duffy has a 2-2 record over six games this year with a 3.99 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 29.1 innings of work. Over his career, Duffy has a 62-63 mark with a 3.98 ERA and 960 Ks in 1084.1 innings total. 

Over on the White Sox’ side, they’ve got a few nice bats going so far this season. Jose Abreu leads the way with a .320 batting average, 12 homers, 30 RBI and 23 runs. Eloy Jimenez is also doing well with his .315 BA, 10 homers, 15 runs and 24 RBI. Yoan Moncada is hitting a relatively tepid .252 this year but does have five homers and 15 RBI. 

For the Friday start, the White Sox will go with Reynaldo Lopez. Over his two starts this season, Lopez is 0-1 with a 13.50 ERA and four Ks in 4.0 innings. Lopez is a 4.75 pitcher over his career with a 25-32 record and 396 strikeouts in 468.1 innings. 

The Royals are 49-103 in their last 152 road games and 106-221 in their last 327 games as an underdog. Kansas City is 4-11 in their last 15 Friday games and 54-131 in their last 185 versus a team with a winning record. 

Meanwhile, the White Sox are 7-0 in their last seven home games and 9-1 in their last 10 overall. Chicago is 7-1 in their last eight games following a win and 6-0 in their last six versus the American League Central. 

Pick: I’m going to take a shot on the Royals here. I do think Lopez will pitch pretty well, though. This will be his second start since coming off the injured list, and in his first he held the Cubs to two runs on one hit over 3.1 innings. Duffy should do a competent job however, and Kansas City will certainly have their chances. If a few things break their way, I can easily see the Royals taking this one.