Houston Astros vs. Chicago White Sox Prediction: Should You Fade Michael Kopech?

Houston Astros vs. Chicago White Sox Prediction: Should You Fade Michael Kopech?

We have ourselves a rubber match, folks. Sunday night baseball will decide the series winner in the finale between the Astros and White Sox, with the Astros winning the opener and the White Sox taking yesterday's meeting after getting to Verlander early. A win today could finally get the White Sox to .500, while a win for the Astros will extend their spot in first place in the AL West. Who can close out the series with a win tonight?

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Astros vs. White Sox Start Time, Where to Watch, and Odds

• Date: June 19, 2022
• Game Time: 7:08 pm ET
• Where to Watch: ESPN

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Astros vs. White Sox Line Movement

Houston Astros vs. Chicago White Sox Prediction

Michael Kopech gets the nod for the White Sox today, and he has been absolute dynamite on the mound. Kopech is a fastball pitcher through and through, throwing his four-seam fastball over 65% of the time. The Astros have a good matchup here since they hit fastballs well. The Astros hit more line drives and barreled balls than most MLB teams and hit fewer ground balls. This plays directly against Kopech's pitch style, which means they could finally crack Kopech, who has looked untouchable recently. Kopech is coming off an injury from his last start against the Rangers, and in the start before that, Kopech pitched six scoreless innings with only one hit against the mighty Dodgers. I expect the Astros to put up a few here on Kopech, especially after getting blanked yesterday in the 0-7 loss.

Christian Javier will be on the bump for the Astros, and he is coming off a six-inning outing where he only let up two runs against the Rangers. Javier has a 3.2 ERA on the year, but more impressively, he has a 1.98 ERA over six appearances at home. Javier is a much more comfortable pitcher at home, considering he has a 4.63 ERA on the road. Javier's last home start wasn't as expected, and he was touched up by the Mariners for five runs in 3.2 innings, so I expect him to bounce back here against a White Sox team that is much worse versus right-handed pitching than left. The White Sox are batting .293 against lefties this year and just .239 against righties, and although they got to Verlander yesterday, they have never seen Javier before, and I expect them to struggle a bit tonight.

Even though Kopech is an excellent pitcher, the White Sox are 5-6 when Kopech starts due to a lack of run support. I believe we see another case of that tonight against an excellent home pitcher in Christian Javier with the Astros coming off an embarrassing loss behind their ace Justin Verlander. Take the Astros tonight, who are 17-9 this season as a home favorite.

Houston Astros vs. Chicago White Sox Pick

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