Houston Astros vs Chicago White Sox Predictions, Betting Odds, Picks

• Rain delay actually gives advantage to Astros
• Offenses could be on display yet again
• X-factors to watch

Odds presented by: DraftKings

After a nearly 24-hour delay, the Astros will try to punch their ticket to the ALCS while the White Sox hope to defend home field and live another day.

The winner gets a matchup with the Red Sox, who eliminated the Rays on a walk-off sacrifice fly on Monday night. Chicago should be familiar with McCullers, but there’s a lot of uncertainty around Rodon.

Because there are fewer question marks, we’re going to take the Astros money line and the over.

Astros vs White Sox Betting Trends to Watch

• Astros are 4-1 in their last 5 overall
• Astros are 4-1 in their last 5 vs. a team with a winning record
• Astros are 12-4 in their last 16 Divisional Playoff games
• Astros are 5-2 in their last 7 playoff games
• Astros are 11-5 in their last 16 playoff games as an underdog
• Astros are 0-4 in their last 4 games as an underdog
• Astros are 0-6 in their last 6 road games vs. a team with a winning record
• Under is 6-2-1 in Astros last 9 road games vs. a left-handed starter
• Astros are 1-5 in the last 6 head-to-head meetings in Chicago
• White Sox are 7-1 in their last 8 games vs. a right-handed starter
• White Sox are 7-3 in their last 10 overall
• White Sox are 1-4 in their last 5 playoff games
• Under is 7-2-2 in White Sox last 11 home games vs. a team with a winning record
• Under is 10-4-1 in White Sox last 15 vs. a team with a winning record

Houston Astros vs Chicago White Sox Predictions

Rain delay helps the visitors

Mother nature got in the way for what was supposed to be Game 4 on Monday afternoon. Rain washed it away so now it will be Tuesday, which has changed the nature of this game.

Had it been played Monday, Jose Urquidy would have started. Urquidy is a solid pitcher who had a very nice season, going — 8-3 overall with a 3.62 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, and 90 strikeouts in 107 innings.

His numbers are almost comparable to Lance McCullers Jr., who started and picked up the win in Game 1. But the 26-year-old doesn’t have the playoff acumen as the World Series champion and with an additional day’s rest, McCullers slides into the rotation.

He was nearly flawless in the series opener, throwing 6.2 shutout innings, giving up just four hits while striking out four others.

Carlos Rodon, who was originally scheduled to start Monday, will get the ball on Tuesday. The question now is what will Chicago get out of their crafty lefty?

Rodon has suffered from shoulder soreness and fatigue, making just two starts over the past month, throwing 89 pitches or fewer on each occasion.

So whether he goes one inning or six, the White Sox are better with him on the mound. He threw 132.2 innings, leading the team with a 2.37 ERA and 185 strikeouts.

Could an offensive explosion be in store?

So far in this series, two of the three games have easily gone “over” the total. The one game that didn’t — the opener which had McCullers on the mound — just narrowly missed.

But with McCullers on the mound (and it being later in the series, so every pitch is even more scrutinized) some might expect this to be lower scoring.

However, a white-hot White Sox team just saw his arsenal less than a week ago, so it’s hard to imagine they won’t fare at least somewhat better than they did in the series opener.

On the other side, the White Sox are hoping Rodon can be even a shell of the no-hitter throwing version of himself from earlier this year to prevent the Astros from putting up more crooked numbers.

X-factors to watch

For Houston, the man to watch is Yuli Gurriel. For starters, he got moved down to No. 7 in the lineup for game three (something no competitor wants to have happen) but he happens to rake against lefties.

Gurriel hit .326 (59-of-181) in the regular season, with eight home runs, 34 RBIs and a .925 OPS.

For Chicago, it’s gotta be Jose Abreu. He had two hits in Game 1 vs. McCullers — the only White Sox player to reach base more than once in the first game. He has been the best hitter for Chicago in the series — posting at least one hit and one RBI in all three games.

How to watch Houston at Chicago