Vegas Play of the Day: Red Sox at White Sox

By Case Keefer (contact)

Thursday, April 17, 2014 | 11:22 a.m.

Picking totals hasn’t gone well in the Play of the Day, which features odds from the South Point and a starting bankroll of $10,000.

But an abbreviated baseball board on Thursday means I’m going back to the over/under direction for some more torture. Perhaps if I whiff on this one, I’ll stick to sides for once and for all in this space.

Boston Red Sox at Chicago White Sox over 7 runs (plus-105): $280 to win $294

Both pitching aces squaring off in this game gave comparable reviews on their last starts: That they were happy to get the win but didn’t have their best stuff.

It’s never easy to bet against Chicago’s Chris Sale or Boston’s Jon Lester, but they only need to labor in the slightest and give up a couple runs apiece to cash an over ticket tonight.

Taxed bullpens are the real reason for the play. The two Sox went 14 innings last night with both teams exhausting nearly every relief arm available.

The White Sox, in fact, lost when they had to send reserve second baseman Leury Garcia to the mound. The Red Sox may have been forced to go a similar route if the game would have gone longer.

The teams also used four relievers each in the series’ first game Tuesday, when Chicago outlasted Boston 2-1. Runs have been hard to come by so far, but that can change in an instant.

Standings: Bern (19-14, $10,460), Keefer (16-17, $9,113), Brewer (12-19-3, $5,800)

Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.