The Blue Jays and White Sox meeting in MLB betting on Saturday in the third game of a four-game series. The White Sox traditionally have struggled against the Blue Jays in this baseball betting series which is somewhat surprising. MLB betting trends definitely point to the Blue Jays in this series. Before Thursday’s game, the Blue Jays had won 16 of the last 20 against the White Sox. The teams did split their series last month at Toronto though and three of those four were high scoring games and went over the baseball betting total.
The White Sox have been getting pretty good pitching this season and that has kept them in many games in MLB betting. One of the players who has excelled is Scott Linebrink. He started the season with a 1.12 ERA. He is pitching in middle relief which is a change for him. “It’s not something I’ve done in a long time, so I don’t know,” said Linebrink, “I’m here to do whatever they want me to do. It’s not something I’ve done in a while, and I am getting older. I don’t know how long it’s going to last or exactly what my role is or how I fit in. All I know is if you keep getting outs, everything else takes care of itself.” The White Sox had D.J. Carrasco as the middle man in the bullpen last year but Linebrink has been filling the role although that is not what manager Ozzie Guillen envisioned. “He’s not, in our mind, the long man. We do not see him like Carrasco. It’s not that way,” Guillen said. “The most he pitches is two innings, but it’s one inning always in my mind. Lino is throwing the ball the best in a long time. That’s why we have to be careful about it. We have to make sure we keep him there and don’t break it. We use him for two innings before just because that’s what we needed him [to do].”
Toronto started the season strongly in MLB betting but they have slipped back to mediocrity. Injuries have been problem. Starting pitcher Brian Tallet is on the DL. Third baseman Edwin Encarnacion is also on the DL and starting pitcher Marc Rzepczynski is still on rehab. The Blue Jays have survived but they simply don’t have the depth to win vs. the MLB betting odds without everyone healthy.