A capsule look at the best-of-five American League division series between the Chicago White Sox and Houston Astros:
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Schedule: (all time EDT) Game 1, Thursday, in Houston, at 4:07 p.m. (FS1); Game 2, Friday, in Houston, 2:07 p.m. (MLB); Game 3, Sunday, in Chicago, 8:07 p.m. (FS1); X-Game 4, Monday, October 11, in Chicago, TBD (FS1 or MLB); X-Game 5, Wednesday, October 13, in Houston, TBD (FS1).
X-if necessary.
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Season Series: The Astros won 5–2.
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Chicago White Sox
Record: 93-69.
Playoff Entry: AL Central Champions.
Manager: Tony La Russa (first season of second stint with the team).
Estimated Rotations: RHP Lance Lynn (11-6, 2.69 ERA, 176 KS in 157 IP), RHP Lucas Giolito (11-9, 3.53, 201 KS in 178 2/3 IP), RHP Dylan Cies (13-7, 3.91 , 226 Ks 165 2/3 in IP), LHP Carlos Rodan (13-5, 2.37, 185 Ks 132 2/3 in IP).
Top Hitters: SS Tim Anderson (.309, 17 HR, 61 RBI, 94 runs, 18 SB), 1B Jose Abreu (.261, 30, 117, .831 ops), CF Luis Robert (.338, 13, 43) , .946 ops), C Yasmani Grandal (.240, 23, 62, .939 ops).
Top relievers: RHP Liam Hendrix (8-3, 2.54 ERA, 38/44 saves), RHP Craig Kimbrel (2-2, 5.09, 1 save with the White Sox; 2-3, 0.49, 23/25 Cubs Saves with), RHP Michael Kopech (4-3, 3.50, 103 Ks 69 1/3 in IP).
October Glance: For the first time in White Sox franchise history, season after season continues to show. They were wild cards last year and lost to Oakland in the first round of the playoffs. … they won the AL Central for the first time since 2008, going 13 games ahead of second-place Cleveland. It was the club’s first season since 90–72 in 2006, with at least 90 wins. … Chicago was swept in a four-match series at Houston in June, but won two of three over the Astros at home in July. … The White Sox devastated the Astros in the 2005 World Series, when Houston were in the National League, in the only last post-season matchup between the teams. …Roden set a career-best for wins, strikeouts and ERA in a breakout performance for the No. 3 overall pick in the 2014 amateur draft. He went 1-0 against Houston this year with an impressive 0.64 ERA in two starts, with 18 runs from 14 innings. But the All-Star left-hander was hampered by an arm trouble, and it is unclear what he will be able to provide in the playoffs. … Kopech played as many innings in five of his last eight relief appearances in the regular season, including three in each of his last two. If Roden or any other starter wobbles he could be the first to get out of the bullpen. … Robert was a force to be reckoned with after returning from a right hip injury. He batted .350 in his last 43 matches with 12 homers and 35 RBIs. He hit .308 (4 for 13) with a homer and two RBIs in the previous year’s playoff series against the US. … Grandal is in the playoffs for the seventh year in a row. The switch-hitting catcher has a .125 (11 for 88) batting average, with five homers and 12 RBIs in 36 career postseason games with the White Sox, Brewers and Dodgers.
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Houston Astros
Record: 95-67.
Playoff Entry: AL West Champions.
Manager: Dusty Baker (2nd season).
Projected Rotations: RHP Lance McCullers Jr. (13-5, 3.16 ERA, 185 Ks, MLB-high 76 walks), LHP Framber Valdez (11-6, 3.14, 125 Ks), RHP Luis Garcia (11-8, 3.30, rookie) AS 167 Ks), RHP Jake Odorizzi (6-7, 4.21, 91 Ks).
Top Hitters: 1b Yuli Guriel (AL-leading .319, 15 hr, 81 RBI), 2b Jose Altuve (.278, 31, 83), LF Michael Brantley (.311, 8, 47), SS Carlos Correa (.279) ), career-high 26, 92), DH Yordan Alvarez (.277, 33, 104), RF Kyle Tucker (.294, 30, 92, 37 doubles).
Top relievers: RHP Ryan Pressley (5-3, 2.25 ERA, 26/28 saves), RHP Kendall Graveman (1-1, 3.13 in 23 games with Houston; 4-0, 0.82, 30 games with Seattle in 10 saves), RHP Ryne Stanek (3-5, 3.42, 2 saves), RHP Zack Greenke (11-6, 4.16 in 30 games, 29 starts).
October look: The Astros are in the playoffs for the fifth year in a row and are looking to return to the World Series for the second time in three seasons. They won the AL West for the fourth time in five years after finishing second only to Oakland during the pandemic-less 2020 season. … Houston had a tough stretch late in the season, going on to win three of its final four games before losing five of six. … Baker is the first manager to win a division title with five teams, leading the Nationals, Reds, Cubs and Giants to the crown. This is their eighth division championship and 11th visit to the playoffs. … Houston’s longest winning streak this season was 11 games from June 13-24. … led the Chiefs with .276 batting average, .339 OBP, 863 runs and 1,496 hits. … finished second in the majors by striking just 1,222 times. … the pitching staff was fourth in the AL with a 3.76 ERA. … 3b Alex Bregman returned on 25 August after missing more than two months due to a quadriceps injury. He hit .270 in 91 games with 12 homers and 55 RBIs. … Greinke, who returned from the injured list on the last day of the regular season, is expected to pull out of the bullpen. The 37-year-old right-handed batsman, who won the 2009 AL Cy Young Award, bowled 2 1/3 innings of relief on Sunday in his first appearance since 2007. in his best season and led all position players with 7.2 overall battles. His 2.9 Defensive Warfare also finished first.
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