MLB Field Of Dreams Game: Starting Pitchers, Odds, Prediction For Yankees vs. White Sox

MLB’s highly anticipated Field of Dreams Game is finally set to get underway Thursday night in Dyersville, Iowa. The New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox will meet in a potential playoff preview between two AL postseason contenders.

The White Sox are technically the home team in the first of a three-game series that will continue this weekend at Chicago’s Guaranteed Rate Field. With a sizable advantage on the mound, the White Sox are favored to beat the Yankees in Thursday’s historic contest.

Lance Lynn is scheduled to start for Chicago against New York pitcher Andrew Heaney. FanDuel Sportsbook gives the White Sox -174 odds to win. The Yankees have been pegged as +146 underdogs.

A quick look at the stat lines of both pitchers makes it easy to understand why the odds favor Chicago.

The AL Cy Young favorite, Lynn has a 2.04 ERA in 114.2 innings pitched. The right-hander has recorded 130 strikeouts to go along with a league-best 6.7 hits allowed per nine innings. Lynn is starting in place of Carlos Rodon, who was set to take the bump Thursday until he was placed on the injured list with left arm soreness.

No AL starter has a lower ERA than Lynn, and few starters in baseball have a higher ERA than Heaney. The left-hander has a 5.45 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP in 104 innings. In two starts since being acquired by the Yankees at the trade deadline, Heaney has surrendered five home runs over 10 innings.

Thursday’s betting total is 9.5 runs.

The AL’s No. 1 pitching staff and fifth-ranked offense have propelled the White Sox to the top of the AL Central. With a 10.5-game lead in the division, Chicago is almost certainly headed to the postseason.

The Yankees have bounced back from an uneven first half of the season to become a strong playoff candidate. New York is two games out of the wild-card race with a 20-10 record in its last 30 games.

Thursday’s Yankee lineup won’t include some of their top contributors of the last few weeks. Gary Sanchez and Anthony Rizzo are on the COVID-IL. Gleyber Torres is hitting .393 in August, but the shortstop will miss his fourth straight game because of a sprained thumb.

Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman is also on the IL.

With all eyes on their game in Iowa, the White Sox have every reason to walk away with the victory.

Prediction: Chicago over New York, 6-3