Pitching Duel Expected in Chicago

If the White Sox plan to make a push for the division, they might want to figure it out sooner rather than later. The Astros, on the other hand, basically can coast into the playoffs. I imagine they are just waiting to find out if they will get the home-field advantage or not.

Jose Urquidy isn't the top of the rotation name you'd think of when you think of the Astros. He doesn't have the name recognition of Justin Verlander, or the hype that Framber Valdez or Luis Garcia does. However, he has turned in a nice campaign. His 11-4 record is indicative of him keeping the Astros in the game more than anything. He didn't have a good start in his last outing against the Rangers, but prior to that, he had a streak of eight straight quality starts and nine of his last ten. He hasn't been super successful on the road, but the Astros are still 8-3 on the road.

Johnny Cueto has been a gem for the White Sox. He too has a streak of eight straight quality starts. In addition, he has 12 of his last 14 outings as quality starts, and one of those outings was a relief appearance. He is someone that the White Sox can count on to deliver good starts for them. I'm expecting him to be able to do that once again. He had a great start against them back in June when he went seven innings and allowed just two hits and no earned runs. I'd love to take the White Sox, but I can't back them.

Instead, I'm going to take the under for the first five innings.