First pitch: Thursday, 8:10 p.m. EDT
Line: Cleveland -130, Chicago +120, Total: 8

The Cleveland Indians and the Chicago White Sox will square off Thursday night in an important rubber match to conclude their three-game series. The Indians could use the momentum of a series victory into their trip to division-leading Detroit this weekend.

Cleveland will send Justin Masterson to the mound on Thursday, who has pitched great against the Sox this year, but hasn’t gotten the victories (1.23 ERA, 1-2 record). Chicago starter Philip Humber has been struggling of late, going 0-4 with a mammoth 7.52 ERA in his past five starts. Cleveland has been nearly unbeatable as a favorite of -125 to -175 this year, going 17-4 (+11.3 Units). The Indians have also thrived in night games with a 49-38 mark (+15.5 Units). The White Sox, on the other hand, are a dismal 27-34 at home (-16.7 Units), including 17-24 at home during night games at U.S. Cellular Field. Expect Masterson and CLEVELAND to get the victory Thursday night.

These two FoxSheets trends also back the Indians.

WHITE SOX are 11-25 (30.6%, -18.9 Units) against the money line after 4 or more consecutive home games this season. The average score was WHITE SOX 3.4, OPPONENT 4.6 - (Rating = 3*).

Play On - All favorites with a money line of -110 or higher (CLEVELAND) – below-average AL hitting team (AVG <=.265) against a team with a good bullpen (ERA <=3.75), with a starting pitcher whose strikes out 5 or more batters per start. (241-127 over the last 5 seasons.) (65.5%, +62.4 units. Rating = 2*).

Masterson (9-7, 2.69 ERA) pitched well on Friday versus Minnesota, allowing only two runs and five hits in 7.2 innings, but did not end up with a decision. Masterson has been unable to get much run support lately, as Cleveland has scored three runs or fewer in 12 of his past 19 starts. In 63 career innings against Chicago, Masterson has a 2.00 ERA and .231 opponent’s BA. The Indians are expected to get rookie second baseman Jason Kipnis back after he missed three games with soreness in his right side. Kipnis is batting .333 with six homers and 10 RBI in his past 12 games.

Humber (8-8, 3.67 ERA) will make his first career start against the Indians on Thursday. He has only faced seven Cleveland batters in his career, allowing three hits, one walk and two runs. He got shelled for 11 hits in six innings his last outing against the Orioles on Aug. 10, but did not get a decision. The White Sox need their sluggers Paul Konerko (27 HR) and Carlos Quentin (24 HR) to give Humber some support, but that’s not likely to happen against Masterson. Konerko is 4-for-22 lifetime versus the Cleveland right-hander, while Quentin is even worse at 1-for-19 with eight strikeouts.