Series Preview – Chicago White Sox host Houston Astros

Tonight at 7:10 PM CT, the Houston Astros will face off against the Chicago White Sox in the first game of a three-game series at Guaranteed Rate Field.

The Astros figured things out to win two out of three against the Angels and come out with a positive record (19-18). However, they’ve lost five of their last eight games and are trying to regain some ground in the AL West, where they are yet to assault first place in 2023.

Framber Valdez and Cristian Javier were as good as the Astros needed them to be against the Halos. They defeated the Angels even without receiving great run support as the Astros are struggling offensively. Speaking of that, Houston is averaging only 3.1 runs and 6.5 hits per game in its last 13 contests.

On the other hand, the White Sox have been incredibly inconsistent throughout most of the season. Their campaign features a 10-game losing streak and a 13-26 record overall, sitting in fourth place in the AL Central. For what it’s worth, Chicago has won two or more games in a row just once.

This is the second series between both teams this season – the White Sox traveled to Minute Maid Park to open the season and split a four-game set.

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Standings

Houston Astros: 19-18, .514, third in the AL West, ninth in the AL, 14th in MLB, on pace for 83-79, Last 10: 5-5, Playoff Odds: 95.1 percent

Chicago White Sox: 13-26, fourth in the AL Central, 13th in the AL, 28th in MLB, on pace for 54-108, Last 10: 5-5, Playoffs Odds: 0.9 percent

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Team leaders

AVG: Astros: Mauricio Dubón (.287) | White Sox: Yasmani Grandal (.270)

OBP: Astros: Yordan Álvarez (.388) | White Sox: Yasmani Grandal (.349)

SLG: Astros: Yordan Álvarez (.558) | White Sox: Luis Robert Jr. (.493)

OPS: Astros: Yordan Álvarez (.946) | White Sox: Luis Robert Jr. (.814)

HR: Astros: Yordan Álvarez (8) | White Sox: Luis Robert Jr. (8)

RBI: Astros: Yordan Álvarez (34) | White Sox: Andrew Vaughn (29)

BB: Astros: Alex Bregman (24) | White Sox: Andrew Vaughn (17)

SB: Astros: Jeremy Peña (6) | White Sox: Tim Anderson (5)

ERA: Astros: Framber Valdez (2.38) | White Sox: Lucas Giolito (3.59)

WHIP: Astros: Cristian Javier (1.01) | White Sox: Lucas Giolito (1.11)

K: Astros: Framber Valdez (57) | White Sox: Lance Lynn (54)

Injury report

José Altuve will start his rehab assignment on Friday night with the Sugar Land Cowboys.

Michael Brantley should rejoin the team in Chicago this weekend after suffering what we can consider a setback.

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Gametime and Starting Pitchers

Tonight at 7:10 pm CT – JP France (0-0, 0.00) vs Michael Kopech (1-3, 5.97)

Saturday at 6:15 pm CT – Brandon Bielak (0-1, 4.15) vs Dylan Cease (2-2, 5.58)

Sunday at 1:10 pm CT – Hunter Brown (3-1, 3.23) vs Lucas Giolito (2-2, 3.59)

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Who’s hot (last 7 days)

Houston Astros:

Yordan Álvarez: 7-for-18, 2 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, .389/.450/.667, 1.117 OPS

Cristian Javier: 1 game, 6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 11 K, 3.00 ERA, 0.67 WHIP

Framber Valdez: 1 game, 8 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 12 K, 1.13 ERA, 0.38 WHIP

Bryan Abreu: 2 games, 2 IP, 1 H, 5 K, 0.00 ERA, 0.50 WHIP

Chicago White Sox:

Hanser Alberto: 8-for-20, 3 2B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, .400/.480/.850, 1.330 OPS

Luis Robert Jr: 7-for-19, 3 2B, 1 HR, 5 RBI, .368/.500/.684, 1.184 OPS

Andrew Vaughn: 8-for-26, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 9 RBI, .308/.321/.577, .898 OPS

Gavin Sheets: 5-for-16, 1 2B, 2 HR, 4 RBI, .313/.421/.750, 1.171 OPS

Who’s not (last 7 days)

Houston Astros:

Rafael Montero: 2 games, 1 2/3 IP, 4 H, 6 ER, 2 K, 32.40 ERA, 3.60 WHIP

Hunter Brown: 1 game, 4 1/3 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 3 K, 8.31 ERA, 2.31 WHIP

Kyle Tucker: 3-for-17, 2 RBI, 2 SO, .176/.211/.176, .387 OPS

José Abreu: 2-for-14, 2 2B, 1 RBI, 5 SO, .143/.250/.286, .536 OPS

Chicago White Sox:

Tim Anderson: 4-for-21, 4 SO, .190/.261/.190, .451 OPS

Mike Clevinger: 2 games, 12 IP, 9 H, 7 ER, 9 K, 5.25 ERA, 1.00 WHIP

Dylan Cease: 1 game, 5 IP, 9 H, 7 ER, 6 K, 12.60 ERA, 2.00 WHIP

Lance Lynn: 1 game, 5 IP, 9 H, 7 ER, 4 K, 12.60 ERA, 2.20 WHIP