At 8:10 p.m. EST, the Houston Astros host the Chicago White Sox again for the second leg of a four-game series at Daikin Park. While the visitors took yesterday’s contest in a 4-2 final, the Stros have played great baseball lately and can certainly be expected to bounce back on Wednesday evening.
Here’s an Astros vs. White Sox prediction and pick on DraftKings Sportsbook for tonight’s outing.
Astros vs. White Sox prediction, preview
Houston Astros
After a rocky start to the season, the Astros have rounded into form through the first weeks of June. It’s not totally shocking they’re atop the AL West with a 36-30 record, however, the context certainly makes the feat more impressive. Yordan Alvarez struggled before being shut down with an injury in early May, the pitching staff has dealt with numerous injuries, and the team has played the fewest games against below .500 teams of any franchise this season. Oh, and did we mention they don’t have Kyle Tucker or Alex Bregman anymore?
The Astros simply know how to win. They’re 16th in OPS and 24th in runs scored, but sit 12th in AVG. The offense isn’t on fire by any means, but Jeremy Pena (quietly a star) and Isaac Paredes have helped keep them afloat while Jose Altuve worked his way out of a slump. Their pitching staff has been key to success, weathering missed time from various contributors but remaining seventh in ERA, third in WHIP, and first in both opponent AVG and strikeouts. If Alvarez comes back healthy or the team adds some firepower on offense at the trade deadline, they’ll be hard to beat in October.
Chicago White Sox
There are fewer positives to write about where the White Sox are concerned. The good news is that they’re not the MLB’s worst team as many people expected. The bad news is that they’re the closest to the bottom at 23-44, better than only the Colorado Rockies.
The Sox are 29th in team AVG, dead-last in OPS, and tied for 26th in runs scored. Chase Meidroth sits first on the team with a .293 AVG and Mike Tauchman’s .943 OPS suggests a career-best season at age 34 (albeit on a very limited sample size). There’s not much else to be excited about, especially with Luis Robert seriously struggling as he bats below even .200. As for the pitching staff, the White Sox come in at 21st in ERA and 25th in WHIP. There’s not much here for opponents to fear.
Astros vs. White Sox pick, best bet
On DraftKings Sportsbook, the Astros are -174 favorites on the Moneyline. The White Sox come in at +142 to win outright, while the run total sits at 8.5.
It’s Ryan Gusto bump day for the home team tonight. The rookie has seen 14 games worth of action with eight starts this year, managing a 4.78 ERA and 1.64 WHIP overall with 45 punchouts in 43.1 innings. He is 3-3 across those eight starts.
The White Sox start Sean Burke, a right-hander with a 4.03 ERA and 1.39 WHIP. He’s thrown 67.0 innings across 13 games with a 3-6 record in his 11 starts. He’s also struck out 50 batters in his work this season.
There’s one commonality between these two pitchers — both give up plenty of walks. Gusto’s BB/9 sits at 4.36 while Burke’s reads 4.30. This looks like something to target on betting cards tonight. Bettors can grab 3+ strikeouts at +155 odds for Burke and +140 odds for Gusto, but I personally lean toward Burke’s line since the Astros generally have a much better process at the plate. I also believe Houston should bounce back from back-to-back losses in this one, so I lean slightly toward Astros -1.5.
Best bet: Sean Burke 3+ walks (+155)
Slight lean: HOU Astros -1.5 (+124)
Click the odds on either bet to tail!
