To call Ivan Nova versus Homer Bailey a pitchers’ duel for the ages would certainly be a stretch, but Nova has been showing some promise recently.

He leads the league in hits and earned runs allowed, yet is 3-4 thanks to winning three of his past four starts. He has not been limiting much contact, giving up 1.35 hits per inning during this stretch, but is issuing just 2.8 walks per nine innings and is throwing nearly 65 percent of his pitches for strikes.

He will be facing a Royals team that is in the bottom half of the league in team batting average on the road. It also helps that Bailey has been in one of the worst stretches possible for a pitcher with regards to his team’s record in his starts.

Between his time with the Royals this year and the Reds in 2018, the teams he has started for have a 5-25 record with 20 of those losses by two or more runs. During this stretch, he has a 6.10 ERA and a 1.604 WHIP while allowing 1.8 home runs per nine innings.

Bailey is also backed up by a far inferior bullpen, as the White Sox rank 11th in bullpen ERA and the Royals are 25th, while also being 27th in opponent’s batting average.

With the White Sox also ranking ninth among MLB teams in team batting average at home and the Royals entering this game tied with the Marlins for worst road record in the league at 7-17, it was worth continuing to fade Homer Bailey’s poor track record.

The Play: White Sox, -113.