After rallying to take the first two games of this four-game series, the White Sox shoot for more Wednesday night on the Southside, Michael Kopech gets the call for Chicago here against lefty Framber Valdez for Houston.
Who do we like for our free baseball betting pick?
MLB Betting Odds
Wednesday’sWednesday’s baseball betting lines opened Houston and Valdez at around -150 over Chicago and Kopech, with an over/under of eight runs. Early betting action then dipped the Astros to -145.
Houston could also be found getting around +110, giving the run and a half on the run line.
Astros-White Sox MLB Betting Preview
Chicago scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to win Monday’sMonday’s series opener 4-2, then scored the last three runs of the game to win Tuesday 4-3. The White Sox won as +110 underdogs Monday, then as +125 dogs Tuesday against Justin Verlander.
With Tuesday’s victory, Chicago now owns a five-game winning streak. At 61-56 overall, the White Sox now sit just one game behind first-place Cleveland in the AL Central, and they’re one game behind Toronto in the battle for the No. 3 spot in the AL wild-card standings.
With Tuesday’s loss, Houston is 5-3 over its last eight games. At 75-43 overall, the Astros lead the AL West by 11 games over second-place Seattle, and they’re 2.5 games up on the Yankees in the race for the best record in the American League.
Chicago leads the season series with Houston three games to two.
Wednesday’sWednesday’s Pitching Match-Up
Kopech is 6/21 on quality starts this season and going reasonably good as of late. Last Friday, he tossed six innings of no-hit ball against Detroit, with three walks and 11 strikeouts, in a 2-0 Chicago victory. And over his last four starts, he’s held opponents to six runs and 17 hits through 21 2/3 innings.
The White Sox are 9-12 with Kopech this season, but that’s probably three games worse than they should be, based on his performances.
In his lone career start against Houston, back in June of this season, Kopech allowed four runs and seven hits, including two home runs, through five innings of a 4-3 Chicago loss.
Valdez, by our strict standards, is 16/22 on quality starts this year and two for his last three. Last Thursday, he held Texas scoreless on four hits through seven innings, with one walk against eight K’sK’s, in a 7-3 Astros victory. And over his last three starts, he’s held foes to six runs and 16 hits through 20 1/3 innings.
Houston is 14-8 with Valdez this season, and that’s probably three games worse than they should be.
Over four career starts against the White Sox, three last year and one earlier this season, Valdez allowed 13 earned runs and 28 hits through 23 2/3 innings. The Astros won three of those four games.
Splits With the Sticks
Houston is batting .242 against right-handed pitching this season, with a .318 team OBP and a .415 team slugging percentage. The Astros have also scored at least six runs five times over their last eight games.
Chicago is slashing .273/.337/.423 against left-handed pitching.
The Bullpens
The White Sox bullpen owns a 3.92 ERA this season, along with a 1.31 WHIP.
The Astros pen owns an ML-best 2.90 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP.
- Get more details: Houston at Chicago 8/17/22 Betting Stats
MLB Betting Trends
Houston is 36-25 on the road this season and 46-32 against right-handed starters.
Chicago is 30-29 at home and 12-13 against left-handed starters.
Totals Report
- The Under is 70-45 in Astros games this season.
- The Under is 58-52 in White Sox games.
- The Under is 28-27 at Guaranteed Rate Field this season.
- The Under is a combined 26-15 with Kopech and Valdez this season.
