Houston Astros vs Chicago White Sox MLB Picks, Odds, Predictions 10/7/21

The Chicago White Sox and Houston Astros meet Thursday in Game 1 of the ALDS in MLB action at Minute Maid Park. The Chicago White Sox won 93 games this season and are in the postseason back-to-back years for the first time in franchise history. The Astros won 95 games this season and are in the playoffs for a sixth straight year.

The Chicago White Sox enter this series winning six of their last seven games. The White Sox have scored 15 runs in their last three games and four or more runs in six of their last seven games. The White Sox have won 10 straight games when scoring four or more runs. Tim Anderson leads the White Sox with 163 hits and 61 RBI while Jose Abreu and Yoan Moncada have combined for 285 hits and 178 RBI. Lance Lynn gets the ball, and he was 11-6 with a 2.69 ERA and 176 strikeouts this season. Lynn is 5-4 with a 4.80 ERA and 52 strikeouts in his postseason career.

The Houston Astros enter this series splitting their last eight games. The Astros have scored 23 runs in their last three games and four or more runs in four of their last six games. The Astros have won 10 of their last 12 games when scoring four or more runs. Yuli Gurriel leads the Astros with 169 hits and 81 RBI while Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa have combined for 322 hits and 175 RBI. Lance McCullers Jr. gets the ball, and he was 13-5 with a 3.16 ERA and 185 strikeouts this season. McCullers is 1-2 with a 3.28 ERA and 58 strikeouts in his postseason career.

The White Sox are 4-0 in their last 4 games following an off day and 6-1 in their last 7 overall. The Astros are 55-18 in their last 73 games following an off day and 152-74 in their last 226 home games. The under is 6-2-1 in White Sox last 9 overall. The over is 7-3 in Astros last 10 playoff home games. The White Sox are 0-4 in the last 4 meetings in Houston and 6-15 in the last 21 meetings.

Tough game to cap and you could really go either way here, and there’s solid value with the White Sox and the even money with Lynn on the mound. Lynn has been money all season long, and he has a 2.90 ERA and .229 allowed batting average on the road this season. McCullers actually has a higher ERA at home than he does on the road, as his ERA at home is 3.51 compared to a 2.70 ERA on the road. With that said, the Astros are a team that’s been here, done that throughout the postseason and they’ve beaten up on the White Sox over the years. As talented as the Chicago White Sox are, they need to prove themselves in these sort of spots.

Give me the Astros and the cheap price.