Henry Roldán
The 2023 Major League Baseball season starts next Thursday, and one of the featured matchups of the opening weekend is the clash between the White Sox vs Astros.
The Chicago squad came in second place in the American Central Division with a record of 81-81, and it was not enough to make it the playoffs. Meanwhile, Houston dominated the American League with a stellar 106-56 record before clinching the World Series championship by taking down the Phillies.
Without further ado, at JefeBet we bring you the best preview of the Chicago White Sox vs Houston Astros game.
Predictions and Betting Preview for the White Sox vs Astros MLB Postseason Game 1 on March 30, 2023
- Where: Minute Maid Park – Houston, Texas.
- When: Thursday, March 30, 2023, 7:08 PM E.T.
Betting on Chicago White Sox
- 2023 Season Record: 0-0.
The 2023 season is here, and the White Sox are ready for a fresh start under the leadership of Pedro Grifol. The team is determined to forget their disappointing performance last year, when they missed the playoffs for the first time since 2019.
Chicago’s offense will need to step up, especially after losing one of their key players in recent seasons, Jose Abreu, who signed with the Astros as a free agent.
Andrew Vaughn will now take over at first base, and the team is counting on him to play a critical role in an attack led by Tim Anderson, Eloy Jimenez, Luis Robert Jr., and new outfielder Andrew Benintendi.
On paper, the White Sox have a solid starting rotation led by Dylan Cease, who finished second in the Cy Young voting last season. He’ll be followed by the experienced Lance Lynn, Lucas Giolito, Michael Kopech, and the new addition to the rotation, Mike Clevinger.
To close out games, Grifol will rely on Kendall Graveman while Liam Hendriks recovers. Additionally, they have other flamethrowers like Joe Kelly, Aaron Bummer, and José Ruiz available.
The starter for this Opening Day will be Cease, the right-hander who had a dream campaign, finishing with a 14-8 record and 2.20 ERA in 184.0 innings pitched. In that span, he struck out 227 batters and left a good FIP of 3.10.
Starting pitcher: Dylan Cease (0-0, 0.00 ERA).
Betting on the Houston Astros
- 2023 Season Record: 0-0.
The defending champions of Major League Baseball are starting their season in Las Vegas as the top favorites to repeat their title from last year’s World Series win against the Phillies.
Despite losing Justin Verlander, the American League’s 2022 Cy Young winner, the Astros’ starting rotation remains strong with Frámber Valdez, Cristian Javier, Luis García, and José Urquidy.
Their bullpen also features one of the best closers in baseball, Ryan Pressly, alongside Rafael Montero, Bryan Abreu, and Ryne Stanek.
On the offensive side, the Houston team managed to overcome Yuli Gurriel’s absence by adding another Cuban slugger, the mighty José Abreu, who will make his debut against the organization he started his MLB career with back in 2014.
The former MVP is coming to solidify a truly fearsome attack, alongside names such as his compatriot Yordan Álvarez, Kyle Tucker, Alex Bregman, Jeremy Peña, and José Altuve, who is expected to return to action by mid-June. Undoubtedly, one of the best offenses in the entire league.
For Opening Day, manager Dusty Baker named Dominican Valdez as his starter, who finished fifth in the American League Cy Young voting after leading the young circuit in innings pitched (201.1) and batters faced (827). He also won 17 games, recorded a 2.82 ERA, and struck out 194 opponents.
Starting pitcher: Frámber Valdez (0-0, 0.00 ERA).
JefeBet Prediction
This is another Thursday matchup with a pretty interesting pitching duel after both pitchers’ impressive performances last season.
Cease finished second in the American League Cy Young voting behind Justin Verlander, while Valadez finished fifth.
However, that does not mean we will not see some hits in this game, given the quality of the offenses present.
The right-hander for the White Sox started against Houston once last season and gave up three runs in five innings. On the other hand, the left-hander for the Astros pitched 13.1 innings, allowing five runs against Chicago.
Prediction: Over (CHW 3 – HOU 5)
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