Kansas City at Chicago

Jose Contreras was 9-0 at the All-Star break last season and then the wheels came off. After the All-Star break he was anything but an All-Star pitcher. He limped through the second half with a 4-9 record and an ERA of 5.40. Along the way he allowed 97 hits in 86 innings. The nightmare continues into this season, but it's actually gotten worse. He has worked 135 innings allowing 170 hits, and his ERA has swollen to 6.18. The White Sox now have a record of 11-27 in his last 38 starts. It is hard to imagine, but it has gotten worse as the season progresses, and the White Sox have gone just 2-13 in his last 15 starts! The opponents have scored 122 runs in those 15 starts, good for 8.1 runs per game. Brian Bannister has suddenly become the ace of this Royal staff and the Royals are 10-4 in his last 14 starts. He has become a true stopper, as he has stopped losing streaks of 3, 2, 3 and 7 games during this stretch. He is 6-2  in his last eight starts after the Royals have lost. The White Sox are just 2-8 in their last 10, have won just 29% of Contreras' starts since the second half of last year, and KC is winning 71% of Bannister's starts since he has emerged as a quality pitcher. We will ride the undervalued Royals here.