White Sox vs Mets Predictions, Picks, Odds: Tim's Time

The New York Mets (45-50) have found their groove, winning the first two games of a three-game interleague series with the Chicago White Sox (40-57). After a high-scoring affair in Game 1, an 11-10 Mets win, New York leaned on co-ace Justin Verlander to pull off a 5-1 victory in Game 2.

Heading into Game 3 at Citi Field, the Metropolitans will be putting their trust in José Quintana’s hands as the former All-Star is set to make his season debut against his old team.

Find out where my best bets lie in our MLB picks and predictions for White Sox vs. Mets on Thursday, July 20.

White Sox vs Mets odds

White Sox vs Mets predictions

The story of Game 3 between Chicago and New York will be the return of José Quintana, who’s finally back pitching in the majors after a surgery in March to treat a lesion on his ribs.

During his 30-day minor-league rehab assignment, Quintana pitched 15 2/3 innings and gave up 10 runs in five starts. There’s no telling how he’ll look in his return, but the White Sox bats have heated up in recent weeks, so this shouldn’t be a walk in the park.

In the Sox's five games since the All-Star break, they’ve averaged five runs per game with nine hits. A big part of that turnaround has been two-time All-Star Tim Anderson slowly pulling himself out of the worst slump of his career.

In that five game stretch against the Atlanta Braves and Mets, Anderson has seven hits and is batting .333 — much closer to his .317 average between 2019-2022. But will his hot streak continue against Quintana?

In 2022, Quintana’s go-to pitch was his fastball (36% of the time) followed by his curveball (28.1%). This season Anderson is batting .286 against fastballs and .250 against curveballs, those numbers are nothing to write home about, but Anderson is batting .857 against those two pitches since the All-Star break

If Quintana gets pulled early, Adam Ottavino, New York’s top relief pitcher in terms of innings, relies heavily on his sinker (37.4% this season), a pitch Anderson loves and is batting .327 against this year.

Given how Anderson has looked since the Sox returned to action on July 14, and the matchup he has with Quintana off his rehab stint, he appears poised to provide some magic in Game 3.

My best bet: Tim Anderson Over 1.5 hits (+160 at bet365)

White Sox vs Mets same-game parlay

Tim Anderson Over 1.5 hits (+160)

Over 9.5 runs (-110)

Both teams to score 4 runs (+150)

+450 at bet365

This is a pitching matchup set up for plenty of runs. Quintana is returning from injury for the Orange and Blue while the Southsiders are putting trust in Michael Kopech to hold it together after a rough outing against the Braves.

Through two games against the Sox, the Mets have 15 hits and 16 runs, led by rookie sensation Francisco Alvarez, who has two home runs and five RBIs in the series.

With Kopech being predominantly a fastball pitcher (62.5% of the time in 2023), the Mets should have a good grasp of what to expect every time they walk up to the plate.

Even with New York batting just .238 this season, they bring power to the table with Alvarez, Pete Alonso, and Francisco Lindor — the trio has combined for 37 home runs against fastballs this season — which should lead to similar offensive fireworks that we saw in Game 1 of the series.

Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.

White Sox vs Mets moneyline and Over/Under analysis

After an impressive pitching performance last night from Verlander, the Mets took Game 2 as a -210 home favorite, and now they’re in position to sweep the Sox.

Tonight’s moneyline opened with the Mets hovering between -134 and -160, depending on the book, and the line has only moved in their favor coming up to anywhere between -155 and -175.

With the Mets still working their way back into the NL Wild Card race — now just seven games back — they’re the heavy favorite against the White and Black once again.

Despite being the favorites, the Mets will likely need their bats to show up with Quintana facing a Sox team that’s scored plenty of runs in three of their last four games, thanks in part to Tim Anderson looking like his old self.

Pedro Grifol, Chicago’s manager, even talked about how important it is to see Anderson finding his mojo again after a two-hit performance in Game 1 against the Braves last week.

“I trust him,” Grifol said after Game 1 against the Braves. “I believe he’s going to turn this thing around and be the player he’s always been. He’s always hit. And he’s going to hit again.”

Could this be another game the Amazin’ Mets need their power hitters to show up for?

Trend to know

The New York Mets have hit the Moneyline in 9 of their last 13 games (+5.00 Units / 31% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for White Sox vs. Mets.

White Sox vs Mets game info

Starting pitchers

Michael Kopech (3-8, 4.47 ERA): The 27-year-old Kopech is coming off a start against the Braves in which he recorded just two outs and didn’t get out of the first inning after giving up four runs — improbably not the worst start of his career. In his last four outings, he has more walks (20) than strikeouts (12) and has gone more than five innings in just one of his last seven starts. With the way the Mets have been hitting in this series, Kopech could be in for another short outing and a very long night.

José Quintana (3-5, 3.50 ERA in 2022): The last time the 34-year-old Quintana took the mound he was a St. Louis Cardinal pitching in the NL playoffs. Now, with the two-year, $26 million deal he signed with the Mets in December, New York is relying on him to help them climb back into the NL Wild Card race. Last season, between his time with the Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates, Quintana had moments of dominance finishing the season with a 2.93 ERA. But the question remains, how rusty will he be after going nine months between major league starts?

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