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White Sox vs. Blue Jays Prediction and Odds for Tuesday, May 31 (Toronto to Stay Hot)

By Joe Summers

The Blue Jays have been all smiles as they bring a five-game winning streak into their series with the White Sox
The Blue Jays have been all smiles as they bring a five-game winning streak into their series with the White Sox / Kevork Djansezian/GettyImages
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The 27-20 Toronto Blue Jays host the 23-23 Chicago White Sox in the first game of a three-game series tonight at 7:07 PM EST.

Toronto has rattled off five straight wins as their offense is finally heating up. They've got Kevin Gausman on the mound today and he's been as good as advertised; compiling a 2.25 ERA over nine starts.

Lucas Giolito gets the call for Chicago and he's putting together a strong campaign as well. He has a 2.66 ERA in May and is coming off an impressive six-inning outing against Boston in which he held the vaunted Red Sox lineup to just one run.

Which pitcher has the edge? Can Toronto notch a sixth-consecutive win or will the White Sox start to turn their season around?

Let's check out the odds from WynnBET Sportsbook to help find some value in this White Sox vs Blue Jays matchup:

White Sox vs Blue Jays Odds, Run Line and Total

Run Line:

  • White Sox +1.5 (-140)
  • Blue Jays -1.5 (+120)

Moneyline:

  • White Sox: +155
  • Blue Jays: -170

Total:

  • 7.5 (Over -120/Under +100)

White Sox vs Blue Jays Prediction and Pick

Both teams have disappointed to this point in the season, but I'm much more optimistic about Toronto's outlook than Chicago's.

Over the last two weeks, the Blue Jays offense has started to come to life. After spending most the year in the bottom-five in OPS against right-handed pitchers, they're up to 12th in the last couple of weeks. The White Sox, meanwhile, rank 24th in that stretch. Tim Anderson just went on the injured list and their margin of error is growing smaller by the day.

Lucas Giolito has put together a nice season but ranks in just the 20th percentile in barrel percentage and 47th in expected ERA. He struggles with command as well and walked four batters in his last outing.

Kevin Gausman, on the other hand, has been among the best pitchers in MLB by all accounts. He's coming off six shutout innings against the Cardinals and ranks in the 88th percentile in expected ERA and 98th in walk rate. Gausman is the superior pitcher in this matchup and the Blue Jays have the superior lineup.

As a cherry on top, Toronto is much better defensively too. MLB Statcast on Baseball Savant has the Blue Jays as the fourth-best defense in the American League in outs above average, while Chicago is dead-last in the AL.

I'll back Gausman and the increasingly stout Blue Jays lineup to secure a convincing home win to open the series.

Pick: Blue Jays -1.5 (+120)

Follow all of Joe Summers' betting picks here.

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