White Sox vs Dodgers Free Pick, MLB Free Picks, MLB Predictions 7/1/25
- J.A. Cavalier
- Jul 1
- 3 min read
CHICAGO WHITE SOX @ LA DODGERS (LAD -310, 8.5)
MLB ODDS, MLB PREDICTIONS, MLB PREVIEWS
WHITE SOX @ DODGERS 7/1/25
The Los Angeles Dodgers, who are tied for the best record in MLB, will host the worst team in the American League for a three-game series beginning tonight when the Chicago White Sox come to town.
With a 5-1 record, including a 5-1 victory over the Royals on Sunday, the Dodgers just dominated a road trip to Colorado and Kansas City. At the end of the trek, they got home runs from Enrique Hernandez and Will Smith, as well as six solid innings from Justin Wrobleski, a young left-hander.
The Dodgers will start Yoshinobu Yamamoto, a more reliable option who is 7-6 with a 2.61 ERA, tonight. Although he wasn't pitching at his best in June, the right-hander recorded his first victory since May 26 on Wednesday after pitching five scoreless innings at Colorado. The White Sox have never faced Yamamoto.
The Dodgers have been playing teams lower in the overall standings after a tough run of division opponents in mid-June. The Dodgers went 7-3 in series against the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants. The White Sox visit follows a 7-2 run for Los Angeles against the Washington Nationals, Rockies, and Royals.
This is only the second time since 2017 that Chicago has visited Los Angeles. The White Sox defeated the Giants in two of three games at home over the weekend. They capped the series off with a 5-2 win on Sunday after rallying for four runs in the seventh inning. In that game, rookie catcher Kyle Teel finished with his second three-hit game in five days, including a two-run double. Since his June 6 major league debut, Teel has batted .319 in 16 games.
After losing two of three games at Toronto between June 20–22, the White Sox have now won two of their last three series. They hadn't won a series away from home since Cincinnati on May 13–15. In their last 13 meetings with the Dodgers, they have only won twice. If you go back further, you’ll see that Chicago won two of three games in Los Angeles in 2014.
The series will function as a kind of reunion. White Sox infielder Miguel Vargas will play against his former team, while Dodgers right-handed reliever Michael Kopech will take on his old White Sox teammates.
In 81 games, Vargas has hit career highs of 10 home runs and 34 RBIs while batting .229 overall. But in his last six games, he is just 1-for-21 with nine strikeouts. Miguel Rojas, the Dodgers' backup infielder, left the game on Sunday due to a jammed ring finger on his left hand.
The series opener will be started by Chicago right-hander Shane Smith (3-5, 3.38 ERA). Over the course of his last two starts, the 25-year-old rookie has given up a total of 11 runs (10 earned) on 10 hits and five walks in 7 1/3 innings. It will be Smith's first time facing the Dodgers.
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COACH RICK FREE PICK:
SHANE SMITH OVER 1.5 WALKS
On June 17, Smith had a sub-3.00 ERA. Then, he gave up 5 ER to St. Louis and 5 more to Arizona. He’s now 3-5 with a still respectable 3.38 ERA. His xERA is 4.09 and some of that has to do with the number of walks he gives up. He has a 9.9 percent walk rate and 10 percent is considered a problem for pitchers. In June, Smith started four games. He had a 5.60 ERA and walked at least two batters in all four starts. In fact, you can go back six starts and find that Smith had at least two walks in all of them. For the season, Smith has walked at least two in 10 of his 15 starts.
