Blue Jays, White Sox Set for Rubber Match in Chicago

CHICAGO (Interstat) — The Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago White Sox will decide their season-opening series in a Sunday afternoon matchup at Guaranteed Rate Field, with first pitch scheduled for 7:10 p.m. CDT under cloudy skies and a temperature around 52 degrees.

The series is tied after two tightly contested games. The White Sox (3-5) evened it with a 6-3 victory Saturday, powered by a three-run homer from Munetaka Murakami. Toronto (4-4) has dropped three of its last four.

The pitching matchup features two right-handers with identical 1-0 records. Toronto’s Davis Martin will face Chicago’s Anthony Kay in a rematch of relievers from Saturday’s game.

Martin earned his win in relief earlier this week. He will be opposed by Kay, who started and got the victory for the White Sox on Saturday, allowing two runs over 4 1/3 innings against his former team.

A player to watch for Toronto is reliever Lazaro Estrada, who threw four perfect innings with three strikeouts in Saturday’s loss. For Chicago, first baseman Murakami looks to build on his decisive three-RBI performance.

According to Interstat, the Blue Jays are projected as favorites with a 66.6% probability to win. Their game simulator predicts a 5-4 Toronto victory. The pregame spread lists Toronto at -1.5 with an over/under of 8 runs.

Following the game, the Blue Jays head home to open a series against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday. The White Sox will remain in Chicago to begin a three-game set with the Baltimore Orioles.