White Sox vs Orioles Pick: O’s Go for Sweep Over ChiSox (June 1)

• Our White Sox vs Orioles pick gauges two last-place teams as they try to string together some wins
• The ChiSox were expected to be one of MLB‘s worst teams, and they are at 18-40
• The O’s were a preseason playoff contender, but they’re 21-36, far out of the running in the AL
• Baltimore sends Charlie Morton to the hill to try and finish off the sweep

ChiSox’ Adrian Houser Has Been a Brilliant Surprise in 2 Starts

Veteran righty Adrian Houser has nine years in the majors. However, after a disappointing 2024 with the Mets, being released, signing with the Cubs, being released again, and then signing with the Orioles, he began 2025 with the Rangers’ Triple-A team.

He had an opt-out, exercised it without a job offer, and subsequently signed with the White Sox.

He has made two starts for the White Sox, pitching against the Mariners and Mets. In a total of 12 innings, he’s given up 5 hits and no runs. It’s unreasonable to expect him to continue pitching like this, but if he can maintain something close to these performances, he will be a trade target for contenders at the deadline.

Against Houser, the Orioles’ Dylan Carlson is the only one with extensive experience. He is 6 for 15 with 2 doubles and a triple. Jorge Mateo is 1 for 2 with a single. Ramon Urias is 1 for 2 with a single.

The White Sox are clearly not a good team, but some players are proving to be useful. Miguel Vargas has a .750 OPS and 8 home runs. Mike Tauchman has long been a popular player among stat-centric teams. He is hitting a gaudy .359 with a 1.017 OPS in 39 at-bats.

Orioles’ Morton Hopes To Build on 1st Win of 2025

Charlie Morton’s 2025 season can’t be dressed up by looking deeper into his stats. His ERA is 7.09 and his FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) is 5.78. Still terrible.

In his last start against the Cardinals, however, he threw 6 innings, gave up 4 hits, 2 earned runs, walked 2, and struck out 5, getting the victory. His record is now 1-7.

If Morton doesn’t get his act together with some consistency, the O’s will likely end up designating him for assignment sooner rather than later.

For the White Sox against Morton, Andrew Benintendi is 7 for 31 with 2 doubles and 2 home runs. Tauchman is 4 for 12 with a home run. Michael A. Taylor is 2 for 7 with a double.

The Orioles’ starting pitching has been atrocious. The bullpen has been mediocre. But their hitting has been problematic as well. Cedric Mullins got off to a searing start, but has slowed noticeably with an OPS down to .772. Ryan O’Hearn has been great with a .962 OPS and 9 home runs. Gunnar Henderson has been hitting better after a slow start. His OPS is up to .748, but that’s not what the team expected for him this year. Adley Rutschman has been horrid with a .203 average and 5 home runs. Heston Kjerstad has been worse, batting .182 with 4 homers.

White Sox vs Orioles Pick: Houser Will Again Pitch Well

The White Sox are bad, but the Orioles are not very far ahead of them in the standings despite massive expectations. Morton has been terrible and Houser, while unlikely to continue pitching as well as he did in his first two starts for the duration, has been so good that the White Sox getting 1.5 runs in the run line is a good play.