The Pirates beat the White Sox 4-2 in Chicago on Tuesday night. It was a regular-season match in MLB, and the result extends their winning run to four games. The visitors had already taken the head-to-head earlier this week, winning 9-3 on Monday.
We had given the home side the edge with 60 percent confidence, but the match went the other way. By then the Pirates had already shown they were not going to be pushed back. They took control in the middle innings and never let the hosts get close.
The White Sox form has been uneven. They won 10-1 against the Twins on Saturday, but lost 6-4 and 6-2 in the games before that. Against the Pirates on Monday they were beaten 9-3, and on Tuesday the pattern continued. The visitors scored first and then added runs when the home side looked to respond.
Possession figures do not mean much in baseball, but the run differential tells the story. Four runs to two is not a comfortable margin when the visitors have been scoring freely. The Pirates are now unbeaten in five, and the White Sox have lost four of their last six.
What matters on the table is the gap. Chicago sit further behind the division leaders, and the Pirates have pulled away from the pack. A fourth straight win means they hold every card going into the next set of fixtures.