TURNING THE TIDE
Houston Astros seek opportunities for revival against faltering White Sox
Jun 18, 2024, 10:04 am
Can the Astros secure a much-needed series sweep? Composite Getty Image.
Houston Astros (33-39, second in the AL West) vs. Chicago White Sox (19-54, fifth in the AL Central)
Chicago; Tuesday, 8:10 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Astros: Framber Valdez (5-4, 3.99 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 51 strikeouts); White Sox: Jonathan Cannon (0-1, 4.56 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 24 strikeouts)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Astros -209, White Sox +173; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Chicago White Sox host the Houston Astros on Tuesday to start a three-game series.
Chicago has a 12-23 record in home games and a 19-54 record overall. The White Sox have gone 6-14 in games decided by one run.
Houston has a 33-39 record overall and a 14-20 record in road games. Astros hitters have a collective .418 slugging percentage to rank third in the AL.
The teams meet Tuesday for the first time this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Gavin Sheets has 14 doubles, a triple and seven home runs while hitting .233 for the White Sox. Andrew Vaughn is 15-for-43 with a double and four home runs over the past 10 games.
Yordan Alvarez has 16 doubles, a triple and 14 home runs for the Astros. Jose Altuve is 14-for-40 with two doubles and two home runs over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: White Sox: 4-6, .247 batting average, 3.88 ERA, outscored by three runs
Astros: 5-5, .257 batting average, 3.78 ERA, outscored opponents by five runs
INJURIES: White Sox: Max Stassi: 60-Day IL (hip), Dominic Leone: 60-Day IL (right elbow), Dominic Fletcher: 10-Day IL (shoulder), Mike Clevinger: 15-Day IL (elbow), Eloy Jimenez: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Yoan Moncada: 60-Day IL (abductor), Jimmy Lambert: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Matt Foster: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jesse Scholtens: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Astros: Cristian Javier: 60-Day IL (forearm), Justin Verlander: day-to-day (neck), Kyle Tucker: 10-Day IL (shin), Jose Urquidy: 60-Day IL (forearm), Oliver Ortega: 60-Day IL (elbow), Bennett Sousa: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Penn Murfee: 60-Day IL (elbow), Luis Garcia: 60-Day IL (elbow), Lance McCullers Jr.: 60-Day IL (elbow), Kendall Graveman: 60-Day IL (elbow)
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The Houston Astros are planning to play Jose Altuve mostly in left field this season, manager Joe Espada told the Houston Chronicle on Monday.
A nine-time All-Star, three-time batting champion and the 2017 AL MVP, Altuve has played all but two of his 1,767 major league games at second base. He won the Gold Glove in 2015 and in 2020 led the AL with the fewest errors there, with four.
“Right now the plan is for him to play the majority of his games in left field,” Espada said, adding that moving Altuve “back and forth is something that I am going to avoid.”
The idea of moving Altuve to left was first broached when the team was looking to keep third baseman Alex Bregman. If Bregman had returned to Houston, it might have forced newly acquired Isaac Paredes to shift to second base and Altuve to the outfield.
Altuve said at the team's FanFest in January, “Whatever I have to do for him to stay, I’m willing to do it.” Asked about how difficult it would be to switch to the outfield after never playing there before, he said with a smile, “For Alex, nothing will be difficult.”
Even after Bregman signed with Boston, moving Altuve to the outfield still made sense to the team.