Wednesday Night ESPN Baseball Free Picks: Yankees @ White Sox Odds, Lines and Predictions – Free MLB Picks 8-3-11

Wednesday Night ESPN Baseball Free MLB Picks, Tips and Odds: New York Yankees at Chicago White Sox Favorite, Moneyline, Total and Expert Predictions 8/3/11: The streaking New York Yankees and the slumping Chicago White Sox will face off Wednesday in the third game of a four-game set with playoff implications for both clubs hanging in the balance. The Yankees have won five straight, closing to within a game of the AL East-leading Boston Red Sox. Meanwhile, the White Sox have dropped four straight, including the first two against New York, to fall 5.5 games back in the AL Central race. Both clubs know they have to find a way to keep winning if they want to make the postseason in 2011.

While the Yankees have the momentum, the White Sox have the edge on the mound, at least on paper. Gavin Floyd is 9-9 with a 3.96 ERA on the year, but he has an incredible 0.81 ERA in his three starts since the All-Star break. One of those starts came against the Boston Red Sox, making his numbers even more impressive. Not to mention the fact that Floyd beat the Yankees in a start earlier this year.

Burnett on the other hand is 8-9 with a 4.23 ERA and is trending in the wrong direction. He went winless in July, and in two previous seasons with the Yankees, Burnett has yet to win a game in 11 starts, posting an ERA near 7.00. He does have the ability to make batters swing and miss, and he enters Wednesday’s game with 120 strikeouts on the year. That being said, he can be wild as well as evidenced by his 63 walks.

Offensively, both teams are missing a key cog in their lineup. The White Sox are missing Paul Konerko, along with his team-leading 25 home runs and 76 RBIs, while the Yankees are missing third baseman Alex Rodriguez. However, New York still has sluggers Mark Teixeira and Curtis Granderson to fall back on, who rank second and third in the American League in both homers and RBIs. Throw in Brett Gardner and Derek Jeter setting the table, and the Yankees are much better equipped to handle the loss of a star than are the White Sox.

Chicago has really missed Konerko’s bat in the middle of the lineup so far in this series. The White Sox fell 3-2 in the series opener, and they were shutout 6-0 Tuesday night, managing just three hits. In Tuesday’s loss, Chicago’s lineup made the very mediocre Phil Hughes look like a Cy Young candidate. Even with Burnett’s late season struggles in recent years, the White Sox batters may be in too much of a slump to take advantage.

In the end, Ozzie Guillen’s club always seems to run hot and cold, and right now, they are cold. Floyd will keep the Yankees in check to a degree, but the White Sox hitters have shown no signs of being able to provide the run support he will need to win. Burnett will be his typical wild self, but he will benefit from a lineup that just can’t get the big hit right now. The Yankee sluggers will do the rest, along with Mariano Rivera at the backend of the bullpen.

Free Wednesday Night ESPN Baseball Tips and Prediction: NY Yankees(-1 ½) Cover the Spread

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