Boston at Chicago

Chicago has dropped the first two games of this series by a combined score of 13-1, but look closer at who authored that damage: two Boston starters the White Sox had never faced, one tossing six shutout innings and the other blanking them for eight. That trend does not carry over today. Patrick Sandoval takes the ball for Boston in his first major league start since June 21, 2024, twenty-five months removed from Tommy John surgery, and he arrives on a workload limit after topping out at 68 pitches in his last rehab outing. Anthony Kay counters at 6-3 with a 4.39 ERA, and he has allowed two earned runs or fewer in five of his last six turns after opening the year in a hole. Home teams that dropped the first two games of a series have been a trend I lean on in game three, and Chicago, still in first place in the AL Central despite the funk, fits that mold this afternoon. My model likes the better arm and the sharper recent form, and we are on Chicago to snap the skid. Take the White Sox this afternoon.