Astros vs White Sox Game Preview: Pitching Duel for the Ages on Tap for Tuesday

Cy Young Candidates Verlander and Cease Take Mound on Tuesday

August games don’t get much more enticing than a matchup when Justin Verlander and Dylan Cease are set to take to the mound. The showdown between two of the American League Cy Young front-runners is the focus of the Astros vs White Sox Game Preview.

The White Sox struck first in the three-game series as Johnny Cueto allowed one earned run through eight innings in the 4-2 win over the AL-leading Astros.

Even with the loss, the Astros lead the AL West by 12 games while the White Sox are just two games back of Cleveland in the AL Central.

The White Sox lead the American League with a .269 batting average since the MLB All-Star Game while the Astros are second in the AL with 31 home runs during that stretch.

Houston is tied with the New York Yankees for the second-best odds to win the World Series while the White Sox are tied for eighth.

Astros vs White Sox Game Information

• Matchup: Astros 75-42 (first in the AL West) White Sox 60-56 (tied for second in the AL Central).
• Location: Guaranteed Rate Field, Chicago
• Date/Time: Tuesday, 8:10 p.m.

Astros vs White Sox Probable Pitching Matchup

Houston: Justin Verlander (15-3, 1.85 ERA) Chicago: Dylan Cease (12-5, 1.96 ERA)

Tucker, and Bregman Starting to Heat Up

Yordan Alvarez has been doing much of the heavy lifting on offense for the Astros this season as he is putting together a season worthy of MVP consideration. With the Astros soaring past the New York Yankees and into the top spot in the American League standings, it is clearly not just a case of one player swinging a hot bat.

Alex Bregman is on a seven-game hitting streak. He is hitting .435 with eight runs, two doubles, three home runs and 10 RBIs over that stretch.

Kyle Tucker also has hits in his last seven games. He is batting .357 with two home runs and nine RBIs over those seven contests.

They are a combined 8 for 29 against the White Sox this season with two home runs and six RBIs after they were each 1 for 4 in Monday’s series opener. They are front and center in the Astros vs White Sox Game Preview.

Vaughn is Back in a Groove for White Sox

There have been some ups and downs in Andrew Vaughn’s second MLB season.

Vaughn followed up a solid month of June by scuffling a little bit in July with a .242 batting average and an on-base percentage of .281.

It has been a much different story in August. His .370 batting average is fourth among American League hitters with at least 40 plate appearances. Only Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees and Jorge Mateo of the Baltimore Orioles have a better slugging percentage among qualified hitters in the AL than Vaughn.

He is 8 of 21 with two home runs with three runs and six RBIs over the last five games as the White Sox are staying within striking range of the division lead.

Vaughn is hitting .294 in four games against the Astros this season. He will be one of the key figures in the Astros vs White Sox Game Preview.

Who’s Hot

• Alex Bregman, Astros 3B: Bregman has at least one extra-base hit in four of his last five games.
• Dylan Cease, White Sox P: Cease has allowed one run or less in each of his last 11 starts.
• AJ Pollock, White Sox OF: Pollock is hitting .348 with two doubles, two home runs, three walks, and five runs scored over his last six games.
• Ryne Stanek, Astros P: Stanek has not allowed a run in his last four appearances, even though he has allowed five hits and walked four batters over four innings of work.

Who’s Not

• Jose Altuve, Astros 2B: Altuve is 2 for 18 over his last six games. Both of those hits have been doubles.
• Jimmy Lambert, White Sox P: Lambert has a 9.00 ERA in four appearances in the month of August.
• Rafael Montero, Astros P: Montero has allowed six hits and six runs over 1.1 innings in his last three appearances.
• Lenyn Sosa, White Sox IF: Sosa is 1 for 16 with six strikeouts in his last four games.

Astros vs White Sox Injury Update

Houston shortstop Jeremy Pena is questionable for Tuesday’s game with a neck injury. Reliever Josh James (lat strain) could return later this month.

For Chicago, outfielder Luis Robert is questionable with a wrist injury. Reliever Joe Kelly is also questionable while shortstop Tim Anderson is likely out until late September.

Astros vs White Sox Betting Preview

Verlander has won his last seven decisions while the Astros have won seven of the last eight games started by the Cy Young favorite. The White Sox are 9-2 in the last 11 games started by Cease. Among qualified pitchers, Verlander and Cease are first and second in the American League in ERA. With these two goings, it is not a surprise that the MLB stats for betting has this game with a total of seven, the lowest mark among Tuesday’s games.

The teams have split the first four meetings this season. A total of 23 runs were scored in the first two matchups with just 13 runs being scored in the last two.

When looking at the MLB betting stats, the total has gone under in five of Houston’s last six games on the road while five of Chicago’s last seven games against teams from the AL West also went under the total.