Michael Kopech might be nervous to check the weather forecast Wednesday night.The 22-year-old’s reluctance would be understandable. His first two starts on Chicago’s South Side have been interrupted because of rain — after two innings against the Minnesota Twins and after three against the Boston Red Sox.“I’m going to say a little prayer to Mother Nature and see if we can figure things out Wade Boggs Jersey ,” Kopech joked after his last start.Article continues below ...Chicago (56-83) will hope for dry skies in the rubber match of a three-game series against Detroit (56-83). The finale’s winner will move into sole possession of third place in the American League Central.Kopech (1-0, 0.82 ERA) is scheduled to make his fourth start of the season for the White Sox. He has allowed one run in his first 11 innings while walking one and striking out nine.This marks Kopech’s second career start against Detroit. He limited the Tigers to one run on seven hits in six innings when he faced them Aug. 26 in Detroit. The performance yielded his first big-league victory.The Tigers will counter with right-hander Jordan Zimmermann (6-6, 4.22 ERA), who is slated to make his 21st start of the year. The 32-year-old has thrown four quality starts in his last six outings, going 2-3 with a 3.79 ERA during that time.In 12 career starts against the White Sox, Zimmermann is 5-4 with a 6.26 ERA. He has given up 45 earned runs in 64 2/3 innings, allowing 12 walks and striking out 43. That includes 20 earned runs allowed in 20 1/3 innings this year.Zimmermann took a no-hitter through five innings against the New York Yankees in his most recent performance, but he surrendered three home runs in the sixth.“It’s a tough situation to be in http://www.redsoxproshops.com/authentic-carlton-fisk-jersey ,” Zimmermann said to the Detroit News after a recent start. “My mentality my whole career has been to fill up the zone and get guys out in three pitches or less.“But it seems like on a lot of guys, I get 0-2 and 1-2, and I tell myself, ‘All right, let’s get this over with and make a quality pitch here.’ But there will be a broken bat and or a jam shot and, boom — two bloops and a blast.”The White Sox have tagged Zimmermann for 30 hits in his 20 1/3 innings.“It’s not like I’ve pitched horribly,” Zimmermann said to the Detroit News. “I am just around the zone too much and they swing at everything.”Outfielder Daniel Palka, who has homered in each of his past two contests Pedro Martinez Jersey , is one of the White Sox’ most confident hitters. The slugger has 21 home runs in his rookie campaign.Chicago has won eight of 12 and 14 of 21.“I think we’re all pulling in the same direction, and it’s a lot of fun to be a part of right now,” Kopech said. “Since I’ve been here, we’ve been a winning team, and hopefully it stays that way for a long time.” The Chicago Cubs (60-42) will meet the St. Louis Cardinals (51-51) for the sixth time in nine days Friday when they visit them in a pick'em matchup at the sportsbooks. The Cubs won three of five meetings with the Cardinals at Wrigley Field to kick off the second half of the season starting a week ago Thursday.MLB betting line: The Cardinals opened as -116 favorites (wager $116 to win $100); the total is at 8.5 runs, according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark(line updates and matchup report).MLB betting pick, via OddsShark computer: 6.0-4.1, Cardinals (MLB picks on every game).Check out the OddsShark podcast on iTunes or at OddsShark.libsyn.com for more odds information http://www.redsoxproshops.com/authentic-hanley-ramirez-jersey , betting picks and a breakdown of this week鈥檚 top sports betting news. Why the Cubs can pay on the MLB linesChicago also took two of three from St. Louis the last time these teams met at Busch Stadium in the middle of June, and the two-time defending National League Central champions got a boost to their starting rotation late Thursday with the reported acquisition of southpaw Cole Hamels from the Texas Rangers.While the Cubs await the arrival of Hamels, this could be the last start for Mike Montgomery (3-3, 3.73 ERA) for a while, as he had been one of their best relievers before moving to the rotation. Montgomery has been an effective starter as well and owns a 1-2 road mark with a 2.68 ERA. He is 0-0 in three games against the Cardinals this year too with a 0.90 ERA. Why the Cardinals can pay on the MLB linesSt. Louis always gets up for matchups with Chicago, as this rivalry remains very underrated. The Cardinals played well in their two wins at Wrigley last weekend and have lost consecutive games to the rival Cubs only once in 13 meetings overall so far this season, according to the OddsShark MLB Database.The Cardinals started out winning four of the first five meetings back in April and May and need to turn things around soon if they want to make the playoffs as a Wild Card team in the NL. Luke Weaver (5-9, 4.79 ERA) will get the call for St. Louis in this spot Bill Lee Jersey , and he should be extra motivated in making his first home start in nearly a month after three consecutive outings away from home. Smart betting pickWeaver has been pretty awful versus Chicago this year, going 0-2 with a 9.75 ERA in three starts. He is also winless at home with an 0-4 record and 5.32 ERA in eight outings. Look for the Cubs to tee off on Weaver again here and play with some extra fire following the Hamels trade en route to their third victory in four games at St. Louis. MLB betting trendsChicago is 17-7 in its last 24 games.Chicago is 4-1 in its last five games on the road.St. Louis is 2-4 in its last six games. All MLB odds and betting trends according to Bleacher Report鈥檚 official odds partner, OddsShark. Check out OddsShark on Twitter and Instagram or head to YouTube for more betting picks and analysis on this week's top games. You can also download the free odds tracker app.