Field of Dreams Game Odds, Preview: Yankees vs. White Sox Picks
Field of Dreams Game Odds
| Yankees Odds | +150 |
| White Sox | -160 |
| Over/Under | 9 |
| Date | Thursday, Aug. 12 |
| Time | 7:00 pm ET |
| TV | FOX |
| Odds accurate as of Thursday at Caesars | |
| Click Here to Get a $5,000 Risk-Free Bet at Caesars | |
Is this heaven?
It’s Iowa.
For baseball fans on Thursday evening, heaven and Iowa are one in the same. Tonight is the long-anticipated Field of Dreams matchup in Dyersville. A year after the inaugural event was postponed due to the global pandemic, the New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox will face-off in a battle between two teams with championship aspirations this fall. Oddsmakers have Lance Lynn and the White Sox as heavy favorites in this one against Andrew Heaney, who will get the nod for the Yankees.
Let’s take a look at the starting pitching matchup and the field dimensions to see where baseball bettors can find value at sportsbooks in the highly-anticipated contest.
New York Yankees
Heaney carries a 5.45 ERA, 4.34 xERA, and a 4.37 FIP into this contest. Across 104.0 innings of work this year, he ranks in the 37th percentile or worse in average exit-velocity, hard-hit percentage, xwOBA, xERA, xSLG, and barrel-percentage. Heaney possesses a strong 28.3 strikeout-percentage against a 7.6 percent walk-rate, but he has struggled to be effective even with showcasing strong command of the strike-zone. In his last seven trips to the mound, Heaney has posted an unimpressive 6.88 ERA and a 5.97 FIP. He will find it difficult to improve much on those numbers tonight against a White Sox offense that ranks ninth in OPS and ISO against left-handed pitching this season, and just recently added high-quality, right-handed bats, Eloy Jimenez, and Luis Robert to the lineup.
Over the last 30 days, New York’s bullpen ranks seventh in FIP. Yet, the Yankees were forced to use Chad Green, Lucas Luetge, Jonathan Loaisiga, Zack Britton, Albert Abreu, and Joely Rodriguez yesterday. Green, Luetge, and Abreu all threw 31 or more pitches. Green, Loaisiga, Britton, and Rodriguez have all pitched two of the last three days. It is unclear exactly who will be available, and how much fatigue will play a role in whoever does end up on the mound.
Chicago White Sox
Carlos Rodon was originally scheduled to start this game, but he was placed on the injured list yesterday with shoulder fatigue. However, White Sox fans will hardly get any sympathy, considering that Rodon’s replacement in this game is the current favorite to win the American League Cy Young Award. Lynn has been fantastic all season—posting a 2.04 ERA and a 3.01 FIP through his first 20 turns in the rotation. He has been excellent as of late as well with a 2.93 ERA and a 2.57 FIP across his last 43.0 innings of work. Lynn should be able to continue building on his phenomenal season against a New York lineup that ranks 20th in OPS and 26th in ISO over the last two weeks.
Chicago used Garrett Crochet for 38 pitches, and Craig Kimbrel for 18 pitches in yesterday’s loss to the Minnesota Twins, but the bullpen as a whole is very rested for the White Sox. Michael Kopech has not thrown since Saturday. Liam Hendricks has not appeared in a game since August 6. Even Kimbrel should be available if needed for the second day in a row, considering that he had not thrown for three days prior to yesterday’s action.
Field of Dreams Game Picks
Given that this is the first game ever played in this venue, there is obviously zero ballpark data to analyze ahead of this matchup. The dimensions are 335 feet to left and right field corners, 380 feet to left- and right-center, and 400 feet to center field. At first pitch tonight, the temperature is forecasted to be in the low-80s with a slight wind blowing across the field from left to right. Oddsmakers likely evaluated the dimensions of the field and did their best to set a reasonable total, but the truth is that nobody has any idea how the ball will travel in the middle of a cornfield in Dyersville, Iowa. If choosing to bet the total in this game, it is a complete gamble.
I suggest sticking with the AL Cy Young front-runner and betting on the White Sox moneyline at Caesars Sportsbook.
Field of Dreams Game Pick: White Sox -160.
Image Credit: Imagn