The Wildcard is over and the divisional rounds are finally here. First up we have the White Sox and the Astros. During the regular season, the Astros under Dusty Baker went 95-67, which is good for the No. 2 seed in the AL bracket behind the Rays. Tony La Russa’s White Sox, meantime, went 93-69, albeit against a substantially easier schedule. This one’s a best-of-five, which means Game 1 is especially important.
How to watch
Date: Thursday, Oct. 7 | Time: 4:07 p.m. ET
Location: Minute Maid Park (Houston, Texas)
TV: FS1 | Stream: fuboTV (Try for free)
Odds: HOU -140; CHW +130; O/U: 8 (via Caesars Sportsbook)
Starting pitchers: Lance Lynn vs. Lance McCullers Jr.
Chicago White Sox
The ALDS Roster for the White Sox:
Starting Lineup
SS Tim Anderson
3B Yoan Moncada
DH Jose Abreu
C Yasmani Grandal
CF Luis Robert
LF Eloy Jiminez
1B Gavin Sheets
RF Adam Engel
2B Leury Garcia
Houston Astros
Here is the Astros ALDS Roster:
Starting Lineup
2B Jose Altuve
LF Michael Brantley
3B Alex Bregman
DH Yordan Alvarez
1B Yuli Gurriel
SS Carlos Correa
RF Kyle Tucker
CF Jake Meyers
C Martin Maldonado
The Astros were 5-2 against the White Sox during the regular season, but the last meeting was way back in July.
Their home record of 51-30 is one of the best in the majors, whereas the White Sox are only 40-41 on the road. McCullers and the Astros core have a lot more playoff experience than the White Sox and history of clutch performances.
The Astros led MLB in runs scored and wRC+ at 116 but the White Sox were not far behind hitting 109. But the Sox have the edge in team pitching, with a 3.73 team ERA versus the Astros 3.78. Surprisingly, the vaunted White Sox bullpen measures out only slightly ahead of the Astros’, with a 3.97 ERA compared to the Stros’ 4.06. Peripheral stats favor the Sox to a greater degree, but perhaps the Astros better team defense accounts for that difference.
Should be a good battle.
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