Houston Astros vs Chicago White Sox Prediction, 7/17/2021 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Houston Astros vs Chicago White Sox

Date: Saturday, July 17, 2021

Location: Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago, IL

TV: NBC Sports Chicago

Odds/Point Spread: Houston (-105) Chicago (-116)

Jake Odorizzi and the Houston Astros (55-36, 1st in AL West) travel to Guaranteed Rate Field on Saturday where they'll take on the Chicago White Sox (54-35, 1st in AL Central). The Astros open this matchup at -105 while the White Sox are priced at -116. The total has been set at 9.5. The starting pitchers will be Jake Odorizzi and Lucas Giolito.

As a team, the Houston Astros are notching 5.5 runs per game, which has them at 1st in MLB. They have tallied 496 runs and hold an OBP of .344. The Astros have compiled 169 doubles as a unit and have hit 116 baseballs out of the park. They have recorded 475 RBI's as well as 838 hits for the year, while their average at the plate comes in at .269. Houston owns a slugging percentage of .439 and have struck out 672 times, while drawing a walk on 338 occasions.

Astros pitchers have given up 104 home runs in addition to 360 runs in total (9th in MLB). They have walked 301 batters and their FIP comes in at 4.05 as a team for the year. Their strikeout to walk ratio sits at 2.72 and the pitching staff has a team WHIP of 1.20. The Astros have a team earned run average of 3.60 this year (9th in MLB), and the staff has rung up 818 hitters.

The Astros relief pitchers have earned a save rate of 60.0% and has stepped onto the mound in 75 save situations. The bullpen pitchers have inherited 117 runners for the year with 40.2% of those players ended up crossing the plate. Astros bullpen pitchers have come into the game with runners on base 77 times in addition to having 89 appearances in high leverage situations. The Astros have sent 272 relief pitchers to the mound so far this year. The bullpen have tallied 39 holds so far this year (20th in MLB). They have tallied 21 saves so far this year and have missed out on 14 of their 35 chances to get a save.

The Astros have turned 72.1% of balls in play into outs out of their 7,317 innings on the diamond, which has them ranked 2nd in the majors. The Houston Astros have 2,439 putouts for the season, in addition to 766 assists and 38 errors. Their fielding rate is at .988 which ranks 1st in MLB, and have a total of 673 double plays.

Odorizzi has taken the hill for 1,089 innings and is sitting with 1,039 strikeouts during his pro baseball career. Odorizzi (65-60 record in his career) has a FIP of 4.09 and he has gone up against 4,567 hitters in the major leagues. His ERA is 3.91 (473 ER's allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.229. He has conceded 969 hits (8.0 hits per nine innings) and has 370 free passes.

Chicago has tallied 92 HRs so far this year as well as 428 RBIs. They have notched 155 doubles, while taking a walk 343 times and scoring 456 runs. The Chicago White Sox have accumulated an OBP of .341 as well as a team batting average of .257 this year. The White Sox hold a team slugging % of .417 and they average 5.12 runs per outing (3rd in the league). They have struck out on 786 occasions (18th in the league) and have a total of 751 base knocks.

The Chicago pitching staff have surrendered 339 runs so far this year while having an ERA of 3.58 (305 earned runs relinquished). They have given up 98 homers and they surrender 3.98 runs per 9 innings (8th in the league). The White Sox have a WHIP of 1.211 with a FIP of 3.68 as a squad so far this year. Their strikeout to walk ratio sits at 3.29 (885 strikeouts vs 269 free passes). They sit at 5th in the league as a staff in total hits allowed with 659.

With 92 save situations, the White Sox have recorded 48 holds and also 15 blown saves. Chicago has called on bullpen pitchers to enter the game in 41 save chances and they have come away with 26 saves. Their relief pitchers have stepped onto the hill 85 times in high leverage situations in addition to 76 occasions with base runners. Chicago relief pitchers have an inherited score percentage of 31.0% out of 126 inherited base runners. They are currently ranked 13th in MLB holding a save percentage of 63.4%, and they have sent 264 relievers onto the diamond over the course of the season.

The Chicago White Sox have turned 59 double plays and own a fielding percentage of .981 (28th in the majors). The White Sox have recorded 656 assists, 58 errors and have amassed 2,300 putouts on the campaign. In 6,900 innings on the field, the White Sox have accumulated a efficiency on defense of 69.0% (22nd in MLB).

So far in his career, Giolito has surrendered 490 base knocks while he has earned 620 strikeouts in 593 innings pitched. Giolito (38-35 career win-loss mark) has a 4.39 ERA while giving up 7.4 hits per 9 innings. He has allowed 289 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.218 and having a FIP of 4.4. His strikeout to walk ratio is 2.67 and he has faced 2,473 batters in his MLB career.

Who will win tonight's MLB game ATS?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Houston (-105)

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