Houston Astros vs Chicago White Sox Prediction, Preview and Odds - 08/18/2022

Game Time: 2:10 pm ET, Thursday, August 18, 2022

Venue:  Guaranteed Rate Field, Chicago, IL 

Where to Watch:  NBCS-CHI

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Astros -145, White Sox +125; Over/Under:  9 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Astros -145, White Sox +125; Over/Under:  9 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Astros -145, White Sox +125; Over/Under:  9 runs

 

Houston Astros:  75-43 (1st place, AL West)

Chicago White Sox:  61-56 (3rd place, AL Central)

 

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Houston Astros:  5-5 last 10

Chicago White Sox:  7-3 last 10

 

 

 

 

The Astros enter this game on a 2 game losing streak. They won their last series against the Oakland Athletics 3-0 completing the sweep in a 3-game series. They enter this game with a 75-43 record overall and have a road record of 36-25. This is the series finale of a 4-game series with the White Sox on Thursday with the 3rd game still to be played on Wednesday. Their offense ranks 5th in the MLB with a .742 OPS. Framber Valdez is their starting pitcher on Wednesday while Luis Garcia is making his start in this game on Thursday. He is 9-8 with a 4.03 ERA this season. His team won 3 of their last 4 games this season with him making an appearance. In his last start, he allowed 4 ER, 0 HRs, and 2 BB with 6 Ks on 8 hits through 6 IP against the Oakland Athletics. 

 

The White Sox enter this game on a 5 game winning streak. They won their last series against the Detroit Tigers 3-0 completing the sweep in a 3-game series. They enter this game with a 61-56 record overall and have a home record of 30-29. This is the 4th game of a 4-game series with the Astros on Thursday with the 3rd game still to be played on Wednesday. Their offense ranks 15th in the MLB with a .700 OPS. Michael Kopech is their starting pitcher on Wednesday while Lucas Giolito is making his start in this game on Thursday. He is 9-6 with a 4.92 ERA this season. His team won their last 3 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last start, he allowed 4 ER, 0 HRs, and 1 BB with 7 Ks on 8 hits through 7 IP against the Detroit Tigers. 

The White Sox are coming into this game as a slight underdog in this game. They have been playing very well recently as they are stacking up the wins now while the Astros have been losing some games recently and blowing late leads. The Astros have Garcia starting here and he has not been that great this season as he allows a lot of runs in his starts. Giolito is starting for the White Sox and he has also been allowing runs in a lot of his starts just like Garcia has been but Giolito has been pitching a lot better in his recent starts and the White Sox have had a much better bullpen recently as well. The Astros have a very good bullpen but they have been slipping up here as they have blown 2 late leads to the White Sox, and their offense has not been scoring a lot of runs either. The Astros pitching cannot be trusted right now and the White Sox have the edge at home here with the way they have been playing. The best way to place a bet here is on the White Sox to win this game.

 

Astros White Sox Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Thursday, August 18, 2022 (2:10 pm ET start time) is White Sox 5 Astros 2.

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Houston Astros: 75-43 (+7.5 Units) ML in all games. 67-33 (+8 Units) ML as a favorite of -110 or higher. 31-13 UNDER as a road favorite of -110 or higher.

Chicago White Sox: 61-56 (-4.6 Units) ML in all games. 30-29 (-10.1 Units) ML in home games. 13-9 UNDER against AL West opponents.

 

 

Houston Astros:  M. Brantley (LF) out for season - Shoulder. J. James (RP) Late Aug - Back. J. Castro (C) out for season - Knee.

Chicago White Sox:  D. Mendick (SS) out for season - Knee. T. Anderson (SS) Late Sept - Suspension. L. Robert (CF) Ques Wed - Wrist.

 

 

 

"It doesn't matter top of the order, bottom of the order, middle of the order, I don't like giving up runs, especially in that situation late like that. Not happy about it." - Justin Verlander after their loss against the White Sox on Tuesday.

 

 

"We know it's crunch time. At this point, there's nothing to give away. We've got to go out and take as many as we can." - Dylan Cease after their win against the Astros on Tuesday.

 

 

 

Jose Altuve (R) 2B

Yuli Gurriel (R) 1B

Yordan Alvarez (L) DH

Alex Bregman (R) 3B

Kyle Tucker (L) RF

Aledmys Diaz (R) LF

Jeremy Pena (R) SS

Mauricio Dubon (R) CF

Martin Maldonado (R) C

 

AJ Pollock (R) CF

Andrew Vaughn (R) RF

Eloy Jimenez (R) LF

Jose Abreu (R) 1B

Yasmani Grandal (S) DH

Yoan Moncada (S) 3B

Josh Harrison (R) 2B

Seby Zavala (R) C

Lenyn Sosa (R) SS

 

 

Batting Average:  Yordan Alvarez (.295)

Hits:  Jose Altuve (106)

Home Runs:  Yordan Alvarez (31)

RBI:  Kyle Tucker (77)

Stolen Bases:  Kyle Tucker (18)

Wins:  Justin Verlander (15)

Saves:  Ryan Pressly (23)

ERA:  Lance McCullers (0.00)

 

Batting Average:  Jose Abreu (.307)

Hits:  Jose Abreu (135)

Home Runs:  Jose Abreu (14)

RBI:  Andrew Vaughn (58)

Stolen Bases:  Tim Anderson (13)

Wins:  Dylan Cease (12)

Saves:  Liam Hendriks (27)

ERA:  Dylan Cease (2.09)

 

Managers:

Houston Astros: Dusty Baker (3rd season)

Chicago White Sox: Tony La Russa (2nd season)