Astros vs. White Sox prediction and odds for Friday, May 12 (Abreu's Return to Chicago)

There haven’t been a lot of bright spots in the Chicago White Sox season so far, but one of them was splitting a four-game series with the Houston Astros to start the year. Now, they get another chance at the defending champs after nearly falling into last place in the AL Central by losing three of four to the last place Royals. The White Sox are 13-26. The Astros come in after winning two straight against the Angels to get to 19-18. 

For Game 1 of this weekend set, the Astros will hand the ball to JP France, making his second career start after going five scoreless his first time out. The White Sox will go with Michael Kopech with his 5.97 ERA and 1-3 record. 

Let’s take a look at the odds for the Astros and White Sox in Chicago tonight. 

Astros vs. White Sox odds, run line and total

Astros vs. White Sox prediction and pick

The Houston Astros have gotten news that Jose Altuve could be returning to the field soon and that’s great news because this team is not the same team that won the World Series a year ago. Their offense just is not consistent at all. They are 26th in OPS over the past week though their 18 runs scored over that stretch is 22nd. 

Jose Abreu still cannot hit, and Alex Bregman hasn’t found his groove either. This is getting beyond the point of just being a slump, and is now a serious problem for Houston going forward. Maybe returning to Chicago will help Abreu find something close to the old version of himself because he is currently carrying a .525 OPS in the second most at-bats on the team. He doesn’t have a single home run and his contract is looking like an albatross.

With all of that being said, Michael Kopech is on the mound and that’s the best news an offense can get. He has an ERA near six, but his FIP is 7.53, and he is in the first or second percentile in expected ERA, expected slugging, hard hit rate, and barrel rate. His expected ERA is north of eight. He is essentially the worst pitcher in baseball this year, so I’ll back the lowly Astros hitters to finally snap out of it, at least for one night. 

Follow all Josh Yourish’s bets HERE

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change