Chicago Cubs vs Chicago White Sox Predictions, Odds & Picks (September 25)

• Is the pressure getting to the White Sox?
• What is going on with the Cubs offense?
• Darvish’s last statement for Cy Young

Cubs vs White Sox Odds

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Cubs vs White Sox Predictions and Picks

In the last 42 games combined (21 each) the under is 31-9-2. On top of that, the Cubs have scored nine runs in their last six games total, so we’re going to take the under in this one.

Pick:

Under 8.5 -120

Betting record through 9/22/20 (35-31-1)

Trends

Cubs are 5-2 in last seven games as a road favorite

Cubs are 1-4 in last five games as a favorite

Cubs are 1-5 in last six overall

Under is 6-0 in Cubs last six games as a road favorite

Under is 4-0 in Cubs last four games vs. a right-handed starter

Under is 16-4-1 in Cubs last 21 overall

White Sox are 15-2 in their last 17 home games

White Sox are 6-1 in their last seven Friday games

White Sox are 8-2 in their last 10 games vs. a starter with a WHIP less than 1.15

White Sox are 0-4 in their last four overall

Under is 9-2 in White Sox last 11 games as an underdog

Under is 15-5-1 in White Sox last 21 overall

How to Watch Cubs vs White Sox

White Sox on Alarming Skid

Earlier this week, the White Sox had what felt like a stranglehold on the AL Central lead. Fast forward just a few days and the south siders have lost five in a row and six of seven and sit in second place in the division, just one game ahead of Cleveland for what would be the first wild card seed in the American League.

Chicago was five games up on Cleveland before getting swept in a four-game set in heart-breaking fashion. After dropping the opener on Monday, the White Sox gave up a three-run walk-off home run in the 10th to lose on Tuesday. Jordan Luplow then hit a walk-off in the ninth on Wednesday to make it three losses in a row to the tribe.

Then, with a 4-1 lead in the seventh, Chicago gave up four in the bottom of the frame including the final two on a two-out, two-run double to the AL MVP front runner Jose Ramirez.

With how dominant Chicago has been at times this season, it can be hard to remember this is the first time for almost each of these players they’ve been in a position to play in October – and wins get much harder to come by as late September arrives. There’s a chance this is a case of the nerves for a young team that still needs to learn how to win.

Cubs Nonexistent Offense Is Now a Major Concern

The Cubs offense has been bad by all accounts this year. The north siders rank in the bottom half or bottom-third of nearly every major offensive category including on-base percentage (18th), runs scored (20th), slugging percentage (24th), batting average (27th) and contact rate (27th).

The Cubs are also dead last in baseball since the start of September in home runs (14) and ISO (.111).

But this past week might have been the worst stretch of the entire season. Chicago is 1-5 in its past six games and scored a total of nine runs. Take out the lone victory – a 5-0 win against the MLB worst Pirates – and the Cubs scored four runs in their five losses. Chicago scored a total of three runs in the last three games against those aforementioned Pirates and now lead the Cardinals by just 2.5 games.

Over the last week, Kris Bryant and Javy Baez are both hitting .091, Jason Kipnis, Kyle Schwarber, and Ian Happ are all hitting below .200 and Anthony Rizzo and Willson Contreras are both hitting below .230. That’s essentially every key hitter in Chicago’s lineup.

It doesn’t matter that Yu Darvish is in the Cy Young race or that Kyle Hendricks has thrown 7.2 innings or more in each of his past four starts if the offense continues to perform like this.

Darvish Final CY Young Statement

Yu Darvish looked like the NL Cy Young front runner in the beginning of this month, when he had a 1.44 ERA and a 7-1 record.

He hasn’t been at his best in his last three starts though, going 0-2 and giving up nine earned runs in 19 innings as his ERA has jumped to 2.22 and his record has dropped to 7-3. It didn’t help that one of those losses came against the other Cy Young leader, Trevor Bauer.

But still, Darvish has a chance and an impressive victory against one of baseball’s best offenses to help the Cubs inch toward an NL Central title would go a long way toward convincing voters to write his name atop their ballots.