Should I Bet on the Chicago White Sox Michael Kopech?

Should bettors back Michael Kopech in today's game?  Let's take a thorough look below.

(June 4, 2023) - Michael Kopech is a bright star on the Chicago White Sox team that is otherwise just 25-35 on the season.  They will be facing the Detroit Tigers shortly after 2 pm ET Sunday.

Let's be real: The White Sox have no business being priced this high (-175).  We don't care who they are playing.  Chicago has won half of its last ten games while Detroit has done the same.

The Tigers are 8-22 in the last 30 meetings in Chicago, so obviously a play on Chicago is tempting, especially with Kopech starting.

He gave up four runs on five hits over his 4 1/3 innings of work in a loss to the Angels last Monday.  But he actually wasn't all that bad.  He managed to rack up 10 strikeouts on the night. All of the damage came in the first inning before he quickly settled down.

What's to Love

• Michael Kopech has pitched well even in his last start, which was not among his best outings
• The Tigers are just 8-22 versus the White Sox
• The Tigers sport the fourth lowest wOBA facing right-handers
• Kopech has allowed just 3 hits on 29 at bats vs. the current Detroit lineup
• White Sox batters have had great success against Detroit starter Matthew Boyd

What's Not to Love

• The White Sox at -170 is tough to pull the trigger on
• What happens when Kopech leaves the game may be a concern

Be mindful that, over his last three starts, spanning 19 1/3 innings, Kopech has 29 strikeouts with just three free passes.

His prior start against the Guardians, blanked the Guardians for seven innings and struck out nine in the White Sox's 6-0 victory Wednesday. 

He was absolutely amazing against KC the prior start, allowing just one hit while racking up 10 strikeouts over eight shutout innings.

Kopech has allowed just 3 hits on 29 at bats vs. the current Detroit lineup.

The big question we have is whether Kopech, who should bounce back Sunday, can pitch well into the 7th inning.  He has in the two prior starts to Monday's poor outing.

Chicago has had five games in their last ten where they've allowed no more than three runs.  Half of Detroit's games in their last ten have only resulted in three or fewer runs.

The Tigers sport the fourth lowest wOBA facing right-handers, with an above average strikeout rate.

Matthew Boyd is 3-4 for the Tigers with a 5.96 ERA.  He was tagged for five runs over six innings on Monday in a loss to the Rangers but allowed just one run in his previous start.

Chicago White Sox career statistics vs. Matthew Boyd are 43 for 126 against him (.336) with 8 home runs.  Tim Anderson and Eloy Jimenez have caused the brunt of the damage.  Both are above .250 but Anderson is yet to hit a homer while Jimenez has 5 and 21 RBIs.

Andrew Benintendi (.271) is a solid 7 for 18 at bats vs. Boyd (.389). 

Tigers are 1-8 in their last 9 games with the total set at 9.0-10.5.

It's a tough pill to swallow but take the White Sox here -167 (still available).

- Don Shapiro, Gambling911.com