Chicago White Sox at Kansas City Royals, MLB forecast
Win probability
Starts from the pregame forecast, then moves with the score and the time left after each inning. Above the line favors KC.
Game center
From the ESPN box score.
Top performers
White Sox- Andrew BenintendiBatting1-4, 2 RBI
- Sean BurkePitching3.2 IP, 2 ER, 3 K
Royals- John RaveBatting2-3, 1 HR, 1 RBI
- Michael LorenzenPitching4.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 K
Scoring summary
- 8Benintendi doubled to right, Robert Jr. scored and Montgomery scored.2–6
- 6Loftin singled to left, Frazier scored, Grichuk to second.0–6
- 5Garcia doubled to left, Rave scored and Yastrzemski scored.0–5
- 3Rave homered to right center (407 feet).0–3
- 2Isbel reached on a fielder's choice to pitcher, Grichuk scored on throwing error by pitcher Burke, Loftin safe at second error.0–2
- 1Yastrzemski homered to right center (408 feet).0–1
The pick
Reconstructed from what was known before the game: the ratings at that point and the closing line.
Royals 57%
Forecast Elo ratings alone
How often that comes true: MLB favorites the forecast gave 55–60% have won 55.5% of 2,596 graded games.
- Market
- KC 57%
- ML CHW +125 / KC -150
- Pre-line forecast
- KC 58%
- Elo + market-implied
- Elo ratings
- KC 63%
- Ratings vs. market
- +5.5 pts
- KC: Elo 63.0%, market 57.4%
- Fair odds
- KC -135
- CHW +135 · the forecast as odds, no margin
- Pregame projection
- CHW 4.4 – 5.1 KC
- Margin from the forecast, posted total 9.5
How the number is built
Elo inputs in rating points (higher favors that team; 25–28 Elo is about a point of spread in football and basketball), then how the pieces combine.
| Factor | CHW | KC | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team rating | 1429 | 1502 | Elo entering the game; 1500 is league average |
| Home field | — | +18 | Worth 18 Elo in MLB |
| Starting pitchers | −1 | 0 | CHW: Sean Burke: team allows 0.04 more runs than with its usual starter (≈9 weighted starts) · KC: Michael Lorenzen: team allows 0.02 fewer runs than with its usual starter (≈10 weighted starts) |
| Elo ratings | KC +92 Elo | KC 63.0% | |
| Market-implied ratings | KC 57.7% | Team strength as past closing lines priced it, same game context | |
| Pre-line forecast | KC 58.5% | 15% Elo, 85% market-implied (log-odds blend) | |
| Forecast | KC 57.4% | Follows the market (vig removed): in testing, adding the ratings made it less accurate | |
Tale of the tape
This season coming into the game, regular season, each number with its league rank (the longer the bar, the higher). Home and road: the host's record at home against the visitor's on the road. Opponent Elo: how strong the teams each has played are, 1st the toughest.
| CHW | Stat | KC |
|---|---|---|
| 27th of 303.8 | Runs scored | 3.828th of 30 |
| 18th of 304.4 | Runs allowed | 3.93rd of 30 |
| 25th of 30−0.6 | Margin | −0.118th of 30 |
| 27th of 302–8 | Last 10 | 5–511th of 30 |
| 28th of 3018–42 | Road vs home | 31–2919th of 30 |
| 3rd of 301504 | Opponent Elo | 149820th of 30 |
| 29th of 301429 | Elo rating | 150218th of 30 |
Rating history
Each team's Elo over the last two seasons. Hover or drag to compare on any date.
Recent form
Last five results, and whether the forecast hit.
Against the line
How each team has done against the closing spread and total, coming into this game.
| This season |  CHW |  KC |
|---|---|---|
| Run line | 71–51 | 60–62 |
| Last 10 | 5–5 | 5–5 |
| Favorite | 0–4 | 19–34 |
| Underdog | 71–46 | 41–28 |
| Overs–unders | 59–63 | 54–68 |
| Overs–unders, last 10 | 5–5 | 7–3 |
Against each game's closing line. Books set every line knowing these records: across 3,901 past games, the team with the better record against the spread so far that season covered 51.2%, short of the 52.4% a standard −110 bet needs, and over/under streaks held 48.0% of the time. They describe the past.
Head to head
CHW 9–25 KC in their last 34 meetings; the forecast called 27 of 34.