<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/MLB_Odds_Astros_vs._White_Sox_prediction_odds_and_pick_-_8162022-1.jpg"></figure><h1>MLB Odds: Astros vs. White Sox prediction, odds and pick – 8/17/2022</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2022-08-17T10:59:16-07:00">August 17th, 10:59am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2022-08-17T11:00:04-07:00">August 17th, 11:00am</time><address><a>Brendan Smith</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">Betting</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Houston Astros and Chicago White Sox will continue their four-game series in the windy city on Wednesday night. With that said, it’s a good time to check out our MLB odds <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/betting/">series</a>, which includes an Astros-White Sox prediction and pick we have laid out below.</p><p>Houston is 75-43, the best record in the American League, squarely in first place in the AL West. Houston has been utterly dominant, outscoring their opponents by 138 runs. With an 11-game lead over Seattle in the AL West, Houston has all but clinched their division with two months of the season left.</p><p>Chicago has been up-and-down all season, with their 61-56 record sitting just one game out of a playoff spot. Manager Tony LaRussa has his group playing better baseball of late, going 7-3 in their last 10 games. As the injured players begin to return and rejoin the club, this team has the looks of a playoff club.</p><p><b><i>Here are the Astros-White Sox MLB odds, </i></b><a href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/navigation/mlb"><b><i>courtesy of FanDuel.</i></b></a><b><i> </i></b></p><h2><b>MLB Odds: Astros-White Sox Odds</b></h2><p>Houston Astros: -1.5 (+114)</p><p>Chicago White Sox: +1.5 (-137)</p><p>Over: 8.5 (-104)</p><p>Under: 8.5 (-118)</p><h2><b>Why The Astros Could Cover The Spread</b></h2><p>Simply put, Houston has one of the best rosters in the league. Slugger Yordan Alvarez has hit 31 home runs, with a .295 batting average and a .400 on-base percentage in 100 games. Kyle Tucker (21 home runs) and Jose Altuve (20 home runs) have also notched an impressive amount of home runs in their seasons. Alex Bregman has rebounded from his horrid first two months to hit 30 doubles and 16 home runs. On June 15, Bregman hit a low point of a .214 batting average but now owns a .261 batting average. Houston’s 160 home runs rank third in the league.</p><p>Tonight, lefty Framber Valdez will toe the rubber in Chicago. Valdez has pitched to a 2.73 ERA in 22 starts. Valdez has a 2.65 ERA in his last 15 starts. The lefty possesses an All-World, high spinning curveball that batters have managed to hit just .145 against. Houston has the lowest bullpen ERA in the league, with a 2.90 ERA. Ryne Stanek has been arguably the best setup man in the league, with a 1.12 ERA in his 43 appearances. Closer Ryan Pressley has impressed, with a 2.86 ERA and 23 saves on the season.</p><h2><b>Why The White Sox Could Cover The Spread</b></h2><p>Chicago’s lineup was finally beginning to get healthy, although now Tim Anderson will miss at least a month. Still, Jose Abreu, the healthiest White Sox player in 2022, has anchored the lineup with a .307 batting average and 14 home runs. Andrew Vaughn and Luis Robert are the only other White Sox that have amassed double-digit home runs. Despite the low power output, Chicago ranks fourth with a .260 team batting average. The team excels with their contact rate, striking out the seventh-lowest amount at 904. Luis Robert, in addition to his 12 home runs, is second with 11 stolen bases, trailing Tim Anderson’s 13 steals.</p><p>Michael Kopech, the flame-throwing right-hander, will be on the mound for Chicago in this one. Kopech owns a 3.18 ERA in his 21 starts. Batters have hit below .200 on both Kopech’s fastball and slider, two pitches he throws over 73% of the time. Chicago’s bullpen has been below-average, with a 3.92 ERA ranking 18th in the league. Still, closer Liam Hendriks has been dominant, with a 2.95 ERA and 27 saves in 42 appearances, striking out 61 in 42.2 innings.</p><h2><b>Final Astros-White Sox Prediction &amp; Pick</b></h2><p>Houston is just too good to pass up in this one.</p><p><b>Final Astros-White Sox Prediction &amp; Pick: Houston -1.5 (+114), over 8.5 (-104)</b></p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

MLB Odds: Astros vs. White Sox prediction, odds and pick – 8/17/2022

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Astros-3-star-prospects-who-must-be-on-expanded-September-roster-for-World-Series-push.jpg"></figure><h1>3 star Astros prospects who must be on expanded September roster for World Series push</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2022-08-17T10:38:07-07:00">August 17th, 10:38am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2022-08-17T10:38:07-07:00">August 17th, 10:38am</time><address><a>Owen Crisafulli</a>My name is Owen Crisafulli, and I’m currently a graduate student at Nichols College pursuing my Masters in Business Administration. Previously, I obtained my Bachelor's degree in Sport Management, and for awhile I ran my own sports website. Sports are my passion, and I thoroughly enjoy writing about my thoughts and opinions that are related to them. I have been a lifelong fan of the major professional teams in Boston, and enjoy discussing topics involving those teams and the major professional sports leagues</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Houston Astros are trying to run away with the top seed in the American League. As the New York Yankees crumble in the AL East, the Astros have only gotten stronger, and could turn the race into a laugher with some more strong play over the next few weeks of the season.</p><p>Houston is clearly a World Series favorite, and they made some <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/astros-news-houston-acquires-trey-mancini-trade-orioles/">solid moves</a> at the 2022 MLB trade deadline to help them make another deep postseason run. Those additions have already proved to be helpful, and should continue to pay off as the season progresses.</p><p>Rosters will expand to 28 players in September, and Houston will have some choices to make in terms of who they add to their major-league roster. This is always a great time to give some prospects in the organization their first taste of the majors, and that could prove true for Houston this season. Let’s take a look at three star prospects in Houston’s farm system that could be called up to aid their World Series push in September.</p><h2><b>3 prospects the Houston Astros should promote in September</b></h2><p><b>3. Pedro Leon</b></p><p>Each of the three players we will look at here are among the Astros top five prospects, so getting them some major league experience down the stretch of the season would seem to be quite beneficial for them. Pedro Leon is the Astros fourth overall prospect, and he’s certainly an interesting player to look at.</p><p>Leon can play all over the field, and has spent time at second base, shortstop, third base, center field, and right field throughout his minor league career. In 2022, Leon has primarily spent time in the outfield, but his positional versatility should help keep him in the lineup if he were to emerge as a starter down the line.</p><p>Leon has spent the entire 2022 season with the Super Land Space Cowboys, and has been a bit inconsistent (.237 BA, 14 HR, 53 RBI, .822 OPS). It would be nice to see Leon’s batting average be higher, but he’s shown enough potential with his bat to warrant a call-up in September. Leon is <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/news/astros-pedro-leon-sidelined-with-facial-fracture/">currently on the injuried list</a> after getting hit in the face with the ball, but he may be able to return this season, and if he does, it wouldn’t be a bad idea for Houston to give him a taste of major league baseball.</p><p><b>2. Yainer Diaz</b></p><p>Yainer Diaz is another do-it-all prospect who could make some noise for the Astros in September. Diaz is currently the Astros third overall prospect, and has been on fire for most of the season in the minors. He earned a midseason promotion to Triple-A with the Space Cowboys, and his success there could help him reach the majors in September.</p><p>Diaz primarily plays at either catcher or first base in the field, but he’s also filled in at left and right field a couple of times as well. Similar to Leon, that versatility in the field should help him stay in the lineup throughout his career. Diaz has been really solid since being promoted to Triple-A (.258 BA, 12 HR, 35 RBI, .846 OPS), and he could provide a nice little spark off the bench for the Astros in September.</p><p>It’s worth noting that Diaz’s average has dropped nearly 60 points (.316 to .258) since he was promoted from Double-A to Triple-A. That is a bit concerning, but Diaz has proven to be a solid power hitter regardless over the past two seasons, and giving him a quick run in the majors could help him establish himself in the majors next season. Diaz has a lot of upside as a hitter, and he could make an immediate impact in Houston if he were to get promoted this season.</p><p><b>1. Hunter Brown</b></p><p>Hunter Brown is the Astros top prospect, while also being the 71st prospect on the MLB’s recently updated top 100 prospects list. Brown has spent the entire 2022 season in Triple-A, and he’s been dominant. His numbers (7-3, 2.45 ERA, 118 K, 1.12 WHIP) paint the picture of a player that is ready to get called up the majors immediately.</p><p>Brown is a versatile pitcher who can slot in wherever the Astros would need him. He’s made most of his appearences as a starter this season, but he’s also been used out of the bullpen too. Houston’s starting rotation is pretty much set, so it would make sense to throw Brown in the bullpen in September and see what he’s got.</p><p>Chances are Brown will make it on the Astros major league roster to start the 2023 season, and he could play a big part in the team’s future. Giving him a chance to experience the majors now would make a world of a difference come next season. And given how good he’s been in Triple-A, it isn’t out of the picture to think he could dominate early and make a case for a spot on Houston’s playoff roster later this season, which would be the perfect scenario for Brown if he ends up getting promoted.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

3 star Astros prospects who must be on expanded September roster for World Series push

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/MLB_Odds_Astros_vs._White_Sox_prediction_odds_and_pick_-_8162022.jpg"></figure><h1>MLB odds: Astros vs. White Sox prediction, odds and pick – 8/16/2022</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2022-08-16T12:09:08-07:00">August 16th, 12:09pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2022-08-16T12:11:58-07:00">August 16th, 12:11pm</time><address><a>Griffin Conant</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">Betting</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Houston Astros will look to avenge their loss from yesterday and continue to build off their AL-best record as they face off with the playoff-hopeful Chicago White Sox in the Windy City. It is time to take a look at our MLB odds <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/betting/">series</a>, where our Astros-White Sox prediction and pick will be made.</p><p>Despite the loss on Monday, Houston has won eight of twelve games and is in control of leading the way for home-field advantage at the moment with their overall record of 75-42. Getting the nod for the ‘Stros will be the dominant Justin Verlander, who is 15-3 with an extremely minuscule 1.85 ERA on the season.</p><p>An extremely important win for the White Sox yesterday, Chicago managed to even up their home record at 29-29 while remaining only two games out of first place in the American League Central. The White Sox will certainly have the right guy for the job for game two later this evening as the un-hittable Dylan Cease will start things off for Chicago. Like Verlander, Cease has been one of baseball’s best hurlers with a 12-5 record and a 1.96 ERA.</p><p><b><i>Here are the Astros-White Sox MLB odds, </i></b><a href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/navigation/mlb"><b><i>courtesy of FanDuel.</i></b></a><b><i> </i></b></p><h2><b>MLB Odds: Astros-White Sox Odds</b></h2><p>Houston Astros: -1.5 (+134)</p><p>Chicago White Sox: +1.5 (-162)</p><p>Over: 7 (-108)</p><p>Under: 7 (-112)</p><h2><b>Why The Astros Could Cover The Spread</b></h2><p>Outside of the fact that they remain quite possibly one of the best teams in baseball, Tuesday’s pitching duel is expected to be a masterpiece. With the likes of Verlander opposing Cease in his home ballpark, it is without question that the Astros will need to bring the bats and piece together strong at-bats to even up this series at one apiece.</p><p>With a phenomenal road mark of 36-24 on the year, the Astros have proven to the rest of the baseball world that they are just as destructive as visitors then they are in front of their home fans. While this wasn’t the case yesterday, the Astros clearly have championship DNA written all over them which is why they have faired so wonderfully away from Minute Maid Park.</p><p>Not to mention, no team in baseball has been as effective from the mound as the Astros during the 2022 regular season. Alas, the Astros as a team has accumulated the second-best ERA in the league at 3.03 and led the way with 69 quality starts and a microscopic .213 batting average against. Simply put, the Astros have the chance to single handily make a run this postseason with their gritty starting pitching staff and cutthroat bullpen. With the expectation that Verlander will most likely perform like he usually does, the Astros are in good hands to cover the spread on Tuesday.</p><h2><b>Why The White Sox Could Cover The Spread</b></h2><p>Benefitting from strong pitching and opportunistic offense in yesterday’s triumph, the White Sox have reeled off four-straight victories and have pushed themselves to the brink of playoff euphoria. Not only is Chicago right on the heels of Cleveland for the AL Central lead, but the White Sox have also become one of the many teams that are in the race for a Wild Card spot. With multiple paths possible leading to postseason play, each game from here on out for Chicago will possess major playoff implications.</p><p>Like the Astros, the White Sox will be sending out their ace in Dylan Cease in what should have a feel of a middle October matchup between both sides. With each team fighting for something before the regular season concludes, Chicago will need to be prepared for whatever wrinkles Houston throws their way. To begin, can the White Sox generate enough offense against Verlander? While opportunities will most likely be limited, Chicago needs to have their best hitters come up big for them.</p><p>Over the years, the White Sox have become quite familiar with Verlander as he has made 46 starts against them since the 2006 season. In those starts, the former Tiger has kept Chicago’s bats in check by posting a 3.72 ERA in those appearances. As a whole, the White Sox will need to use their fourth-best in the majors .259 batting average to their advantage to get Verlander’s pitch count up so he can make a swift exit and they can start getting after the Houston bullpen.</p><p>Additionally, Cease is more than due for a tremendous outing against the ‘Stros. He has lost all three of his starts versus Houston and has posted a porous 6.60 ERA when facing off with Houston.</p><h2><b>Final Astros-White Sox Prediction &amp; Pick</b></h2><p>On paper and in comparison to the rest of the MLB scheduled slate on Tuesday, this epic matchup has the makings of being one of the more competitive contests that baseball has to offer. At the end of the day, this one comes down to Cease’s struggles against the Astros while Verlander has remained steady in keeping the White Sox off-balanced throughout his career. Side with the team fighting for the best record in the American League in this one, as it isn’t often that Houston drops back-to-back games.</p><p><b>Final Astros-White Sox Prediction &amp; Pick: Astros -1.5 (+134)</b></p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

MLB odds: Astros vs. White Sox prediction, odds and pick – 8/16/2022

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/It_ll_be_fun__Justin_Verlander_excited_for_showdown_with_Dylan_Cease_in_matchup_that_hasn_t_been_seen_since_2005.jpeg"></figure><h1>‘It’ll be fun’: Justin Verlander excited for showdown with Dylan Cease in historic matchup</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2022-08-16T07:52:08-07:00">August 16th, 7:52am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2022-08-16T07:52:08-07:00">August 16th, 7:52am</time><address><a href="https://medium.com/@rpsalao">R.P. Salao</a>Check out my best stuff on Medium - medium.com/@rpsalao.I also post quality NBA YouTube content - tinyurl.com/SalaoYouTube.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>A monumental clash is set to take place on Tuesday night as the Houston Astros take on the Chicago White Sox on their home field. While the two teams are pretty far off in the standings, their two aces are dealing at an almost identical rate this season. Justin Verlander gets set to take on Dylan Cease in what would be the pitcher’s duel of the season and potentially one for the ages.</p><p>Both pitchers have absolutely mowed down hitters all season as the two own the only sub-2.00 ERAs in the American League with Verlander clocking in at an absurd 1.85 with Cease not far behind at 1.96.</p><p>The Astros ace definitely welcomes the challenge. Verlander spoke out on the opportunity to face off against his biggest threat to the Cy Young award and wants to relish the moment more than anything, <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/white-sox/yoan-moncada-johnny-cueto-lead-white-sox-past-astros-4-2">via NBC Sports:</a></p><blockquote>“It’ll be fun,” Verlander said. “I don’t think you get a lot of moments like this, where you get two guys having great years like this that match up. Things have to align, so it’s very exciting.”</blockquote><p>The matchup was slated to be the first wherein the two ERA leaders in the majors would square off in over a decade up until Sandy Alcantara jumped in between them to drop his ERA at 1.92.</p><p>Still, fireworks are destined to go off with Justin Verlander absolutely dealing with an ERA approaching 1.00 in his last eight starts while Dylan Cease hasn’t allowed more than one run in his last 14 starts. It’ll be interesting to see who gives first – or if neither do as the game gets decided by the bullpens.</p><p>It’s likely going to be a long night for hitters from both sides, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/white-sox-news-did-tony-la-russa-actually-take-fans-advice-on-big-decision-during-comeback-vs-astros/">that’s for sure.</a></p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

‘It’ll be fun’: Justin Verlander excited for showdown with Dylan Cease in historic matchup

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Johnny-Cueto-White-Sox-Astros.jpg"></figure><h1>‘That’s what we need to do every game’: Johnny Cueto ‘definitely’ sees fire after thrilling White Sox comeback vs. Astros</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2022-08-16T07:09:55-07:00">August 16th, 7:09am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2022-08-16T07:14:03-07:00">August 16th, 7:14am</time><address><a>Rexwell Villas</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Chicago White Sox are roaring again. They are coming off a sensational 4-2 win over the mighty Houston Astros to not only kick things off the right way in this four-game series at home but also extend their undefeated run to four games. Veteran pitcher Johnny Cueto, who knows a thing or two about what it takes to win a World Series being a former World Series champion himself, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/white-sox-news-we-need-to-show-the-fire-that-we-have-if-we-have-any-johnny-cueto-sounds-alarm-chicago-season/">recently wondered aloud</a> whether the White Sox still had t he burning desire to win. He seems to have finally gotten an answer to that, a strong one, in the form of this current Chicago win streak.</p><p>Via <a href="https://allchgo.com/2022/08/16/johnny-cueto-breathing-fire-with-urgent-talk-in-addition-to-pitching-heroics-for-white-sox/">Vinnie Duber of allchgo.com</a>:</p><p>“Yes, definitely,” Cueto said through team interpreter Billy Russo, asked if he saw the fire he was looking for from the White Sox on Monday night. “That’s what we need to do in every game, just try to compete and have the same energy level and excitement that we had today.</p><p>Johnny Cueto and the White Sox entered the Houston outing Monday following a three-game sweep of the lowly Detroit Tigers at home. It looked like Chicago was about to get back in the win column when it trailed 4-0 heading into the bottom of the eighth inning, but that’s where the White Sox turned things around, scoring four unanswered runs before the end of that frame and holding on to that lead until the final out was made.</p><p>On Aug. 11, Fangraphs gave Johnny Cueto and White Sox just <a href="https://www.fangraphs.com/standings/playoff-odds-graphs?lg=AL&amp;div=C&amp;stat=poff&amp;year=2022">32.9 percent to make the 2022 MLB postseason</a>. That is now up to 50.1 percent and could even increase with a win this Tuesday when they send ace Dylan Cease to the mound for what should be an electric pitching duel against the Astros’ Justin Verlander.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

‘That’s what we need to do every game’: Johnny Cueto ‘definitely’ sees fire after thrilling White Sox comeback vs. Astros

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Tony-La-Russan-White-Sox-Astros.jpg"></figure><h1>Did Tony La Russa actually take White Sox fan’s advice on big decision during comeback vs. Astros?</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2022-08-16T06:52:12-07:00">August 16th, 6:52am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2022-08-16T06:52:12-07:00">August 16th, 6:52am</time><address><a>Rexwell Villas</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Chicago White Sox are on a roll, as they are now in a four-game undefeated run following a thrilling 4-2 victory at home Monday night over the Houston Astros — a great way for them to kick things off in this four-leg <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb-odds-astros-vs-white-sox-prediction-odds-pick-8-15-2022/">series</a>.  The White Sox <i>proooobably</i> wouldn’t have been able to pull that come-from-behind victory without a random fan giving Tony La Russa and Chicago’s bench a bit of advice that he yelled all way from the stands.</p><p>See, the White Sox trailed the Astros by four runs entering the bottom of the eighth inning, but Chicago turned things around when Eloy Jimenez drove two runs with a double to tie it all up. Then the fan we just mentioned started driving from the backseat, so to speak, pleading for the White Sox to let the speedy Adam Engels (third on the team with 11 stolen bases) pinch run for Jimenez. Whether La Russa actually heard that advice or not, he did make the decision to pull Jimenez for Engels. Moments later, Jose Abreu and Yasmani Grandal would take free passes, loading the bases for the White Sox with Engels moving to third. It did not take too long before Yoan Moncada singled to center to drive both Abreu and Engel home.</p><p>With the win, the White Sox put themselves just two games back of the National League Central division-<a href="https://www.fangraphs.com/standings/playoff-odds">leading</a> Cleveland Guardians. They will look to keep it going, hopefully with that same smart fan around, when they take on Justin Verlander in Game 2 of this series Wednesday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Did Tony La Russa actually take White Sox fan’s advice on big decision during comeback vs. Astros?

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/MLB_Odds_Astros_vs._White_Sox_prediction_odds_and_pick_-_8152022.jpg"></figure><h1>MLB Odds: Astros vs. White Sox prediction, odds, pick – 8/15/2022</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2022-08-15T08:29:36-07:00">August 15th, 8:29am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2022-08-15T08:31:35-07:00">August 15th, 8:31am</time><address><a>Matthew Zemek</a>Matt Zemek has written for various sports websites and publications since 2001. He was the editor of the NBA site Crossover Chronicles in the 2016 NBA season. He was a contributing editor to the now-defunct site FanRag Sports in 2017. He currently lives in Phoenix, Arizona.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Betting</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Houston Astros take on the Chicago White Sox. Check out our <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/betting/" rel="noopener">MLB odds series</a> for our Astros White Sox prediction and pick.</p><p>Jose Urquidy goes to the mound for the Astros, while Johnny Cueto gets the start for the White Sox.</p><p>Jose Urquidy, from June 21 through Aug. 3, made eight starts in which he was outstanding for the Astros. In those eight starts, he pitched 53 innings and allowed only 12 earned runs. That’s an ERA of close to two runs, which is an elite track record. Why is Urquidy’s season ERA at 3.85? He lets some starts get away from him, such as his most recent one on Aug. 9 against the Rangers. He allowed five runs in five innings, coughing up three home runs. In late May and early June, he allowed 17 runs in four consecutive starts. Are we going to see the pitcher who flourished throughout July, or will we see the pitcher who gives up the big blast and can’t contain the opposition in this Monday night game in Chicago?</p><p>Johnny Cueto has a 2.91 ERA. He is the workhorse the White Sox have sorely needed this year, given the injuries to their high-end relief pitchers such as Joe Kelly. Cueto has pitched at least six full innings in each of his last eight starts, sometimes going seven innings and occasionally going eight. That has been a godsend for a team whose bullpen has been overextended for much of the year. The White Sox know what to expect when Cueto takes the ball: They’re going to get close to seven innings of work, generally with two or three runs allowed. Cueto always gives the White Sox a chance to win. The obvious problem is not with Cueto himself, but with a Chicago batting order which has chronically underachieved this year. When Cueto gives up three runs in seven or eight innings, that should almost always be enough to win, but in 2022, it hasn’t been. The White Sox are 7-9 in games Cueto starts this year. Given his ERA, that’s a clear indictment of the White Sox’ hitting this season.</p><p><a href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/navigation/mlb" rel="noopener"><b><i>Courtesy of FanDuel</i></b></a><b><i>, here are the Astros-White Sox </i></b><b><i>MLB odds.</i></b></p><h2><b>MLB Odds</b><b>: Astros-White Sox Odds</b></h2><p>Houston Astros: -1.5 (+128)</p><p>Chicago White Sox: +1.5 (-154)</p><p>Over: 8.5 (-106)</p><p>Under: 8.5 (-114)</p><h2><b>Why The Astros Could Cover the Spread</b></h2><p>They’re a better team, and more precisely, they get the most out of their talent. Houston beat the White Sox in the playoffs last season, and has come back and replicated its excellence the way everyone expected. The White Sox have not replicated last year’s excellence and cannot be trusted to get the big hit in big games. Chicago has been playing the Royals, Rangers, and Tigers in recent weeks. Facing the Astros is a significant increase in the quality of the opponent. The White Sox usually don’t handle good opponents in 2022. Jose Urquidy can match Johnny Cueto and get this game into the bullpens, where Houston figures to have an advantage.</p><h2><b>Why The White Sox Could Cover the Spread</b></h2><p>Johnny Cueto is a reliable pitcher who dominated the Astros in Houston a few months ago. He gives the Sox a great chance to win. On top of that, Jose Urquidy, while certainly a solid pitcher, is not a dominant one. The White Sox could tag him for a few home runs and assert themselves. What should encourage White Sox fans is that the offense finally came alive over the weekend against the Tigers. The White Sox feasted on a bad opponent, something they haven’t consistently done this year. They’re right in the hunt in the A.L. Central race and have everything to play for.</p><h2><b>Final Astros-White Sox Prediction &amp; Pick</b></h2><p>This is a stay-away game, if only because the White Sox might be finding themselves. The White Sox are not a trustworthy team by any means, but if they’re beginning a surge in the standings, you don’t want to pick Houston here, especially with Urquidy and not a more proven starter on the hill. If you insist on a pick, though, lean Astros.</p><p><b>Final Astros-White Sox Prediction &amp; Pick: Astros -1.5</b></p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

MLB Odds: Astros vs. White Sox prediction, odds, pick – 8/15/2022

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Alex-Bregman-Jose-Altuve-Astros.jpg"></figure><h1>‘Hit one for Uvalde’: Alex Bregman helps Astros fulfill young fan’s request after community meeting</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2022-08-15T06:33:36-07:00">August 15th, 6:33am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2022-08-15T06:34:55-07:00">August 15th, 6:34am</time><address><a>Rexwell Villas</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>This past Sunday was a special day for the Houston Astros, as they hosted hundreds of family members and friends of victims of the tragic Uvalde, Texas shooting in May. The Astros hoped that in their own little way, they would be able to bring some comfort to the people directly impacted by the unimaginable horror of the Uvalde school shooting. Astros star third Alex Bregman helped that cause by hitting one out of the park right in the very first inning of the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sometimes-you-need-that-ryan-pressly-opens-up-about-humbling-astros-experience-after-completing-revenge-mission/">game</a> against the Oakland Athletics.</p><p>Via <a href="https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/34401073/alex-bregman-delivers-young-fan-request-hr-houston-astros-host-members-uvalde-community">ESPN</a>:</p><p>“As soon as I got into the dugout, [manager] Dusty [Baker] goes, ‘Hey, you hit one for Uvalde!'” said Bregman, who also contributed an RBI double in Houston’s 6-3 victory.</p><p>According to ESPN, “A little girl who was at the school at the time of the shooting didn’t have a question for [Jose] Altuve but rather a request,” which was for Altuve to hit a home run. While Altuve was not able to fulfill that wish, he drove two runs with a double in the second inning to stretch the Astros’ lead to four.</p><p>With that victory, Alex Bregman and the Astros are now on a four-game win streak and added more cushion between them and the rest of the Americal League West division. But more importantly, they gave the people of Uvalde something to at least feel good about — even for a day.</p><p>Up next for the Astros is a road series against the Chicago White Sox that begins Monday night.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

‘Hit one for Uvalde’: Alex Bregman helps Astros fulfill young fan’s request after community meeting

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Astros-Athletics-Ryan-Pressly.jpg"></figure><h1>‘Sometimes, you need that’: Ryan Pressly opens up about humbling Astros experience after completing revenge mission</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2022-08-14T17:59:33-07:00">August 14th, 5:59pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2022-08-14T18:00:20-07:00">August 14th, 6:00pm</time><address><a>Rexwell Villas</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Houston Astros are head and shoulders above the rest of the competition in the Americal League West division and further stretched their lead atop the group with a 6-3 win at <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb-odds-athletics-vs-astros-prediction-odds-and-pick-8-13-2022/">home</a> over the Oakland Athletics. Moreover, that win completed their mission to avenge their embarrassing sweep at the hands of the same team not too long ago.</p><p>Astros closer Ryan Pressly certainly loved that the Astros were able to show their dominance at the expense of the Athletics, who shockingly swept them late last month in a three-game series at RingCentral Coliseum.</p><p>Via <a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/alex-bregman-astros-complete-sweep-of-a-s">Brian McTaggart of MLB.com</a>:</p><p>“You go and you get slapped around at their place a little bit, and it kind of humbles you and brings you back to reality,” Astros closer Ryan Pressly said. “Sometimes, you need that. You can’t take anything away. You have to give them credit. They’re good players. They get paid to hit and pitch, just like everybody else. Those guys are good and are having a bad year, but we wanted to come back and sweep them like they did to us.”</p><p>Houston’s offense came through big time for the team in the A’s series, as the Astros outscored Oakland in that three-game span 21-8.</p><p>The Astros are now on a four-game undefeated streak. Before they entered the latest series against the Athletics, they went 2-1 in their series opposite the Texas Rangers, also at home. Up next for Ryan Pressly and the Astros is a road trip that will have them playing against the Chicago White Sox and the Atlanta Braves.</p><p> </p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

‘Sometimes, you need that’: Ryan Pressly opens up about humbling Astros experience after completing revenge mission

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/i-think-were-the-best-team-in-baseball-lance-mccullers-jr-drops-bold-claim-after-pitching-gem-in-return.jpeg"></figure><h1>‘I think we’re the best team in baseball’: Lance McCullers Jr. drops bold claim after pitching gem in Astros return</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2022-08-14T09:24:47-07:00">August 14th, 9:24am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2022-08-14T09:24:47-07:00">August 14th, 9:24am</time><address><a href="https://medium.com/@rpsalao">R.P. Salao</a>Check out my best stuff on Medium - medium.com/@rpsalao.I also post quality NBA YouTube content - tinyurl.com/SalaoYouTube.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Houston Astros didn’t know what to expect from Lance McCullers on Saturday as he made his first start after nearly a year on the shelf. The former All-Star went above and beyond expectations, pitching a gem of a debut in what was a shutout 8-0 win over the Oakland Athletics.</p><p>McCullers showed that he can be a valuable weapon for an Astros team vying for another World Series run. He was vocal on wanting to be just that after his impressive showing, <a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/lance-mccullers-jr-throws-6-scoreless-innings-in-return-from-injury">via MLB.com:</a></p><blockquote>“I want to be a productive part of the team, and I want to help this team win,” Lance McCullers said. “I think we’re the best team in baseball, and I just want to go out there and be a part of that.”</blockquote><p>The Astros pitcher was nearly untouchable in six innings of action, allowing no runs and just two hits. Never mind that it was against an Athletics side on a losing streak. Returning to pitch against major league bats is never easy especially coming off such a lengthy hiatus. To see him reach his previous levels in his first game back is all you could hope for in his return.</p><p>It didn’t hurt that Lance McCullers had some added motivation as well. His daughter and grandfather, both of whom haven’t truly had the opportunity to support him in the recent past, were in the stands cheering him on.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Lance McCullers Jr (<a href="https://twitter.com/lmccullers43?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@lmccullers43</a>)on his kiss to the crowd:”My daughter was here-1st time she really knows what’s going. My grandfather was here.He had a stroke a few years ago.This is the 1st time he’s been able to c me pitch since-That was a kiss2the family.I love the fans too” <a href="https://t.co/Oop5Pnf57D">pic.twitter.com/Oop5Pnf57D</a></p><p>— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkBermanFox26/status/1558654366231326721?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 14, 2022</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>If Lance McCullers is going to look this dominant during outings with his family in the stands like that, then the Astros brass better be locking in the best seats in the house for them any time he’s slated on the mound.</p><p>With the New York Yankees <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/red-sox-news-tommy-pham-savage-message-after-walking-off-yankees-in-extras/">stumbling over the past few months,</a> the Astros have looked like the clear best team in the American League. Adding McCullers if he continues to deal like he did Saturday certainly adds to the argument.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

‘I think we’re the best team in baseball’: Lance McCullers Jr. drops bold claim after pitching gem in Astros return

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Astros-news-Houston-gets-major-Lance-McCullers-Jr-update-following-Michael-Brantley_s-injury.jpg"></figure><h1>Astros get major Lance McCullers Jr update following Michael Brantley’s injury</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2022-08-13T12:36:37-07:00">August 13th, 12:36pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2022-08-13T12:39:03-07:00">August 13th, 12:39pm</time><address><a href="https://joeymistretta.wordpress.com">Joey Mistretta</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Houston Astros received difficult news yesterday after it was announced Michael Brantley <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/astros-news-houston-receives-devastating-michael-brantley-injury-update/">would miss the remainder of the 2022 season due to injury.</a> But Houston fans received a positive update on Lance McCullers Jr on Saturday. The Astros announced that McCullers would be activated from the 60-day IL and will be starting against the Oakland Athletics, <a href="https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/08/astros-reinstate-lance-mccullers-jr-from-60-day-injured-list.html">per MLB Trade Rumors.</a></p><p>McCullers Jr had been out due to a forearm ailment. He originally suffered the injury during the 2021 postseason and has not pitched since. Although his return is great news for the Astros, the right-hander did not look sharp during his rehab start. McCullers Jr was hit hard in a Triple-A outing and his velocity was down.</p><p>With that being said, this is a pitcher who’s missed almost an entire year. So Houston needs to patient with him. He will have a little over one month and a half to build up strength and prepare for the postseason.</p><p>The Astros pitching rotation has been impressive this season. They’ve displayed a combination of talent and depth which has been a crucial aspect of their overall success. Lance McCullers Jr represents another option for Dusty Baker and this ball club.</p><p>In reference to the aforementioned Michael Brantley injury, there is a good chance that Trey Mancini <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/astros-news-trey-mancinis-role-amid-michael-brantley-injury-update-revealed/">begins seeing more time in the outfield.</a> Astros GM James Click said the team has been working with Mancini in left field. He isn’t a strong defender, but Houston will be happy as long as Mancini makes the routine plays.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Astros get major Lance McCullers Jr update following Michael Brantley’s injury

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Astros-3-post-MLB-trade-deadline-moves-Houston-must-make.jpg"></figure><h1>3 post-MLB trade deadline moves the Astros must make</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2022-08-13T10:38:20-07:00">August 13th, 10:38am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2022-08-13T10:38:20-07:00">August 13th, 10:38am</time><address><a>Owen Crisafulli</a>My name is Owen Crisafulli, and I’m currently a graduate student at Nichols College pursuing my Masters in Business Administration. Previously, I obtained my Bachelor's degree in Sport Management, and for awhile I ran my own sports website. Sports are my passion, and I thoroughly enjoy writing about my thoughts and opinions that are related to them. I have been a lifelong fan of the major professional teams in Boston, and enjoy discussing topics involving those teams and the major professional sports leagues</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Houston Astros are once again one of the top teams in the MLB as the 2022 season begins to reach the homestretch. They have taken over the top seed in the American League from the New York Yankees for the time being, and are running away with the AL West division for the fifth time in the past six seasons.</p><p>Houston is unsurprisingly one of the favorites to win the World Series this season, and for good reason. They have a deadly pitching staff and a lineup that is immune to losing players. Despite watching stars George Springer and Carlos Correa leave in free agency recently, the Astros haven’t missed a beat this season.</p><p>The Astros made some big moves at the trade deadline that showed the rest of the league they meant business. But even with the deadline in the rearview mirror, there are still moves Houston could make to solidify their status as one of the top teams in the majors. Let’s take a look at those moves and the impact they could have on the rest of the Astros 2022 campaign.</p><h2><b>3 moves the Houston Astros need to make</b></h2><p><b>3. Promote Hunter Brown</b></p><p>The Astros don’t have a very deep farm system, but their top prospect is clearly nearing a promotion to the majors. Hunter Brown is the Astros only prospect currently in the MLB’s top 100 list, and it may be time to give him a call up to the majors.</p><p>Brown has been used in a variety of roles at Triple-A with the Sugar Land Space Cowboys (what a name) this season, and he’s excelled no matter the role. Brown has a 7-3 record with a 2.45 ERA and 118 strikeouts. He has started 13 games while making seven appearences out of the bullpen, so he could be used in a number of different roles for Houston down the stretch.</p><p>It makes sense to ease Brown into the action out of the bullpen given how good their starting rotation has been this season. Houston’s bullpen hasn’t been bad, but you can always use quality arms, and it feels like adding Brown to the bullpen would give him a chance to thrive as he starts his major league career.</p><p><b>2. Start Christian Vazquez at catcher</b></p><p>One of the <a href="https://www.sportingnews.com/us/mlb/news/christian-vazquez-trade-details-astros-red-sox/r5yf4slob4kbrdpogvnj4bhb">bigger moves</a> the Astros made at the trade deadline was picking up catcher Christian Vazquez from the Boston Red Sox. The move was supposedly done to send Martin Maldonado, who is hitting just. 187 on the season, to the bench in favor of Vazquez. So far, that hasn’t happened.</p><p>Since the deadline, Vazquez has started only four games, and taken 16 at-bats. He’s gotten virtually no chance to get in rhythm, and Maldonado has remained behind the plate for the most part. It’s a curious decision considering how Houston swung a trade for Vazquez to presumably replace Maldonado, not back him up.</p><p>Vazquez has vastly outproduced Maldonado at the plate this season, and seemed like a solid upgrade at the deadline. Maldonado is a superior defender behind the plate, but you can’t really justify Maldonado’s miniscule batting average being in the lineup everyday. Houston clearly acquired Vazquez for a reason, and it’s time for them to give him some at-bats so they can improve their lineup.</p><p><b>1. Bench Yuli Gurriel</b></p><p>Yuli Gurriel put together the best season of his career in 2021 when he led the American League with a .319 batting average. 2022 hasn’t been much of the same, though, as Gurriel has struggled mightily, and it may be time to send him to the bench for the rest of the season now that Trey Mancini is on board.</p><p>Gurriel’s numbers in 2022 (.240 BA, 7 HR, 32 RBI, .667 OPS) are a far cry from his dominant 2021 campaign. Gurriel’s WAR of 0.0 shows how he has had virtually no impact on the Astros success this season. Houston has pretty much gotten by without Gurriel doing anything this season, which is partly why they went out and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/astros-news-houston-acquires-trey-mancini-trade-orioles/">traded for Mancini</a>, who can fill in at first base and in the outfield. Mancini should send Gurriel to the bench more often than not.</p><p>Gurriel still has some value in that he can play first quite well, but his bat has been a minus all season long, and the Astros finally got their replacement in Mancini from the Baltimore Orioles. Mancini could techinically replace Chas McCormick, who is hitting .232 in left field for Houston, but he’s still managed to hit 11 home runs and get on base more than Gurriel.</p><p>Gurriel has become a key contributor for the Astros late in his career, but it appears he may have hit a wall and begun regressing. If that’s the case, Houston now has the resources to send Gurriel to the bench, and it seems like it may be time to make that move happen.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

3 post-MLB trade deadline moves the Astros must make

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/MLB-Odds-Athletics-vs-Astros-prediction-odds-and-pick.jpg"></figure><h1>MLB odds: Athletics vs. Astros prediction, odds and pick – 8/13/2022</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2022-08-13T10:27:11-07:00">August 13th, 10:27am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2022-08-13T10:27:37-07:00">August 13th, 10:27am</time><address><a>Griffin Conant</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">Betting</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Oakland Athletics and the Houston Astros go head-to-head this evening for game two of this AL West showdown. Join us for our MLB odds <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/betting/">series</a>, where our Athletics-Astros prediction and pick will be revealed.</p><p>Losers of six straight ballgames, the A’s sit in a position where playing for pride and not embarrassing themselves is priority number one. Well behind the playoff race with an overall record of 41-72, Oakland’s rebuilding phase has been just that. Looking to contribute to snapping the lengthy losing skid will be southpaw Zach Logue, who will be getting the start with his 3-5 record and 4.79 ERA.</p><p>The exact opposite could be said about the Houston Astros, as World Series aspirations are as high as they have ever been. With almost every game from here on out possessing major playoff implications, Houston will be anxious for the return of righty Lance McCullers Jr. Making his season debut on Saturday, McCullers missed the first four months of the campaign after straining his forearm last postseason.</p><p><b><i>Here are the Athletics-Astros MLB odds, </i></b><a href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/navigation/mlb"><b><i>courtesy of FanDuel.</i></b></a><b><i> </i></b></p><h2><b>MLB Odds: Athletics-Astros Odds</b></h2><p>Oakland Athletics: +1.5 (+122)</p><p>Houston Astros: -1.5 (-146)</p><p>Over: 8.5 (-118)</p><p>Under: 8.5 (-104)</p><h2><b>Why The Athletics Could Cover The Spread</b></h2><p>Soon to be mathematically eliminated from the playoff picture in the coming weeks, Oakland’s combination of young and inexperienced players got the best of the A’s in 2022. While they do indeed have some promising players on the roster and within their farm system, Oakland is far away from being a contending franchise any time soon.</p><p>In Friday’s series opener, the A’s jumped out to an early 2-0 lead before they imploded by surrendering six runs to Astros hitters in the bottom half of the fifth inning. While Oakland did battle back offensively to make it a one-run game in the eighth frame, their energy in staging a massive comeback had been used up. To make matters worse, the A’s bullpen was certainly not firing on all cylinders. For a team that sports a below-average 4.23 ERA as a whole, the A’s must get better outings from their pitchers.</p><p>For beginners, receiving a quality start from rookie Zach Logue will be critical in giving the bullpen some much-needed rest. After being called up from Triple-A to start a doubleheader that occurred on July 21st, Logue tossed six innings and surrendered three runs in the process while punching out four batters.</p><p>On paper, the offense has certainly been lackluster, to say the least, this season, but they did just enough for them to have a chance to win on Friday. Despite ranking 29th in total runs scored and dead last with a .215 batting average on the year, the A’s managed to smack eleven balls for hits against Astros pitching, and in order to cover the spread later this evening, the name of the game will be the Oakland sticks.</p><h2><b>Why The Astros Could Cover The Spread</b></h2><p>At 73-41, the ‘Stros are locked in an intense battle with the Yankees with home-field advantage in the American League playoffs on the line. Remarkably, it has been nearly an impossible feat for teams to come away victorious when playing the Astros at Minute Maid Park. Through 55 home games, Houston has accumulated a 37-18 record in front of their home fans. All in all, the rest of the contending squads out in the AL would prefer not to see the Astros with home field during this postseason.</p><p>After Houston was able to cover the spread on Friday versus Oakland by putting up crooked numbers in a hurry, the overall balance of this roster and the multitude of ways they can win leaves teams shaking in their boots. To begin, the Astros possess a top-five slugging percentage in major league baseball with a .423 mark. This team’s slugging prowess was on full display yesterday when outfielder Kyle Tucker clubbed a moonshot for a grand slam in the fifth inning that put the A’s away for good.</p><p>Pitching-wise, there have been few teams as dominant as the Astros. Ranking out as the top team in the majors when it comes to quality starts and batting average against, Houston’s ability to make bats whiff is impressive to say the least. Not to mention, but they also possess the second-lowest ERA in baseball at 3.05 and also have held an extremely efficient 1.10 WHIP for the majority of the year. As talented as Lance McCullers has been throughout his career, there will be no doubt some rust on the arm of the 28-year-old. Regardless, the chances of the Astros covering in this one are high thanks to a 6-3 lifetime record against the A’s to go along with a 3.55 ERA in 12 career appearances.</p><h2><b>Final Athletics-Astros Prediction &amp; Pick</b></h2><p>At first glance, this divisional battle has a chance to get ugly in a hurry. With the A’s currently in the thick of a lengthy losing streak and the Astros fresh off of wins in three of their last four, it is hard to picture any scenario where the A’s cover as underdogs. H-Town remains victorious and nabs yet another series win at home.</p><p><b>Final Athletics-Astros Prediction &amp; Pick: Astros -1.5 (-146)</b></p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

MLB odds: Athletics vs. Astros prediction, odds and pick – 8/13/2022

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Framber-Valdez_-hilarious-response-to-claim-he_s-worth-200-million_thumb.jpg"></figure><h1>Astros star Framber Valdez’s hilarious response to claim he’s worth $200 million</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2022-08-12T18:41:25-07:00">August 12th, 6:41pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2022-08-12T18:41:25-07:00">August 12th, 6:41pm</time><address><a>Tristin McKinstry</a>I have experience covering sports going back to 2014. Major The Last of Us fan. #1 Jar Jar Binks propagandist. I am currently pursuing a degree in communications.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Houston Astros star pitcher Framber Valdez has emphatically established himself as one of the more dominating hurlers in the American League. And his run of form is being noticed by those around him.</p><p>Astros catcher Martin Maldonado spoke with reporters following Valdez’s start on Thursday. During his media availability, he dropped a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/astros-news-framber-valdez-gets-200-million-vote-of-confidence-after-dominating-win/" rel="noopener">bombshell assessment</a> on his teammate.</p><p>“I think Framber is a $200 million pitcher. That’s how high I am on Framber,” Maldonado said. “He pitches deep into games… I’ve always been high on Framber.”</p><p>The Astros pitcher reacted to the claim during an <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkBermanFox26/status/1558220850268180480" rel="noopener">interview</a> on Friday. “If he says I’m worth $200 million, I might be worth more,” he joked.</p><p>He also had a lot of high praise for this battery mate. “He’s a great teammate. And he’s a great friend,” Valdez said. “He knows what he’s talking about.”</p><p>Valdez is undeniably a candidate in the American League Cy Young Race. Sporting an 11-4 record, the 28-year-old has pitched to a 2.74 ERA with 128 strikeouts in 142 innings pitched. He has thrown 19 consecutive quality starts, an Astros franchise record.</p><p>“I feel proud of it,” Valdez <a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/framber-valdez-throws-19th-straight-quality-start-for-astros" rel="noopener">said</a> after his start Thursday. “This is something that’s [close to] a record for the team, a record for me, as well. It’s something that, I think, just shows the fruits of my labor, the fruits of all my dedication and all the hard work I’ve put in.”</p><p>The 28-year-old Astros All-Star has thrown more innings than any pitcher in the major leagues. Valdez doesn’t mind the workload, however, if he’s able to help his team succeed.</p><p>“My body feels good,” he said. “I’ve been working really hard just to be able to throw all these innings and just continue to be able to throw a lot more innings to help the team and be able to do a great job for the team on the field.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Astros star Framber Valdez’s hilarious response to claim he’s worth $200 million

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Michael-Brantley-Astros.jpg"></figure><h1>Astros GM reveals what they are missing with Michael Brantley done for the year</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2022-08-12T17:00:41-07:00">August 12th, 5:00pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2022-08-12T17:01:20-07:00">August 12th, 5:01pm</time><address><a>Quinn Allen</a>Quinn Allen is a freelance sports journalist and full-time editor for ClutchPoints. He specializes mainly in soccer, basketball, and baseball. When Quinn isn't producing content for CP, he's writing predictions across the European soccer and NBA world for bettors at Sports Betting Dime, one of the fastest-growing sports betting sites in North America.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Houston Astros are one of the best teams in baseball, but they were recently dealt a brutal blow as outfielder Michael Brantley, one of their best hitters, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/astros-news-houston-receives-devastating-michael-brantley-injury-update/">underwent shoulder surgery and is expected to be out for the rest of the year.</a></p><p>GM James Click revealed exactly what the team will be missing with Brantley done. <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkBermanFox26/status/1558200693776945153">Via Mark Berman:</a></p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">.<a href="https://twitter.com/astros?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@astros</a> GM James Click on Michael Brantley: “He could fall out of bed and hit .300.”</p><p>— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkBermanFox26/status/1558200693776945153?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 12, 2022</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>It’s true. Brantley is true that gifted at the dish. Although he has been sidelined since June and the Astros have continued to consistently win ballgames, there is no question Houston is going to miss him. Before the injury, Brantley was slashing .288 with five homers and 26 RBI in 64 games. He’s not a huge power guy, but the veteran drives the ball to all fields on a regular basis. He’s invaluable.</p><p>The Astros’ lineup isn’t exactly a strong suit this season. Yes, they’re 72-41. However, it’s the staff carrying the load, posting a 3.03 ERA as a group. That’s the third best in the Majors. Offensively, it’s Yordan Alvarez and Jose Altuve leading the pack, both hitting close to .300. Alvarez has 31 homers already and is even in the AL MVP conversation, although it’s essentially Aaron Judge’s for the taking at this point. Houston ranks 11th in runs scored and 17th in team average (.241).</p><p>Brantley is in the second year of a two-year, $32 million deal with the Astros. It’s unknown if they will look to bring him back. He’s 35 but still more than capable of contributing. Houston clearly knows that. This is also the second shoulder operation he’s had, undergoing a similar procedure in 2015. Brantley will become a free agent in the winter.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Astros GM reveals what they are missing with Michael Brantley done for the year

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Trey-Mancini_s-role-amid-Michael-Brantley-injury-update-revealed.jpg"></figure><h1>Trey Mancini’s role for Astros amid Michael Brantley injury update revealed</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2022-08-12T16:21:20-07:00">August 12th, 4:21pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2022-08-12T16:23:30-07:00">August 12th, 4:23pm</time><address><a href="https://joeymistretta.wordpress.com">Joey Mistretta</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Houston Astros originally acquired Trey Mancini to be an extra bat in an already impressive lineup. His goal was to simply smash baseballs all over Minute Maid Park. However, Mancini’s role may have just changed with the recent Michael Brantley <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/astros-news-houston-receives-devastating-michael-brantley-injury-update/">injury news</a>. Brantley is expected to miss the remainder of the season. Astros’ GM James Click shared what Mancini’s new role may be moving forward, <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkBermanFox26/status/1558197012272742402">per Mark Berman</a>.</p><p>“Gary Pettis has been working with him (Trey Mancini) out there (in the outfield) quite a bit,” Click said. “He’s been really impressed with his work out there. During batting practice, when Gary is not watching, Trey will be out there working on the nuances of playing left field here in Minute Maid Park. And that’s part of the reason we acquired Trey was that we felt he could go out there in the corner outfield and help us out.”</p><p>Michael Brantley underwent surgery on his shoulder and will miss the season. He isn’t the same player he used to be, but Brantley is as pure of a hitter as it gets. He seems to always be hitting near .300 and features one of MLB’s smoothest swings. Even this season, despite being plagued by injuries, Brantley hit .288 for the Astros.</p><p>But now it appears likely that Trey Mancini will receive outfield playing time. Mancini has experience in the outfield. But he’s mainly played first base and DH over the past couple of years. And playing in the outfield at Minute Maid Park is difficult given it’s irregular dimensions.</p><p>Nonetheless, the Astros believe he can make the transition.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Trey Mancini’s role for Astros amid Michael Brantley injury update revealed

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Astros-Michael-Brantley.jpeg"></figure><h1>Astros receive devastating Michael Brantley injury update</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2022-08-12T12:47:44-07:00">August 12th, 12:47pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2022-08-12T13:13:13-07:00">August 12th, 1:13pm</time><address><a>Sam DiGiovanni</a>Marist College '22 | earned my stripes at TheKnicksWall.com and CenterFieldMarist.com</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Houston Astros are well on their way to another AL West title. That would be their fifth straight title, excluding the shortened COVID season. As they get ready for the playoffs, they will have to prepare to go forward without star outfielder Michael Brantley.</p><p>The Astros announced that Brantley, who hasn’t played since June 26th, underwent surgery on his right shoulder and will be sidelined for the entire season.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Houston Astros outfielder Michael Brantley underwent an arthroscopic labral repair on his right shoulder, General Manager James Click announced today. As a result of the surgery, Brantley will miss the rest of the season. <a href="https://t.co/zrOyceu9TD">pic.twitter.com/zrOyceu9TD</a></p><p>— Houston Astros (@astros) <a href="https://twitter.com/astros/status/1558166732832878594?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 12, 2022</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Although Houston still has one of the best lineups in baseball, not getting Michael Brantley for the rest of the season is a sad development. His ability to avoid strikeouts and get the ball in play is super valuable. In 64 games this season, he has a slash line of .288/.370/.416 and 70 hits, including 14 doubles, five home runs and a triple.</p><p>Houston was able to compensate for Brantley’s injury by trading for Trey Mancini. The former Baltimore Orioles star has <a href="https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1555708956416393218?s=20&amp;t=uwzixH8c8Cdjvgou3UfQug">shined</a> with the Astros so far when given the chance to play.</p><p>Fortunately for the Astros, Lance McCullers has <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/astros-news-lance-mccullers-gets-massive-injury-update-that-should-worry-yankees-fans/">worked his way back</a> from an injury and will be inserted back into the starting rotation. The usual stars — Justin Verlander, Yordan Alvarez, Jose Altuve, Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman — are joined by stellar rookie Jeremy Peña and tons of other trade deadline additions. They have the talent and depth to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/astros-2-reasons-houston-is-the-world-series-favorite-after-2022-mlb-trade-deadline/">get back to the World Series</a>.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Astros receive devastating Michael Brantley injury update

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Carlos-Correa-Justin-Verlander_s-opt-out-plans-for-upcoming-free-agency-revealed.jpg"></figure><h1>Carlos Correa, Justin Verlander’s opt-out plans for upcoming free agency, revealed</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2022-08-12T09:00:43-07:00">August 12th, 9:00am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2022-08-12T09:40:38-07:00">August 12th, 9:40am</time><address><a href="https://joeymistretta.wordpress.com">Joey Mistretta</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The MLB regular season is entering its final months. The postseason races are heating up and contenders are gearing up for the stretch run. But that doesn’t mean players and teams aren’t preparing for MLB free agency as well. According to <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/08/11/who-yankees-did-and-did-not-offer-to-get-luis-castillo/">Jon Heyman of the New York Post</a>, both Justin Verlander and Carlos Correa are expected to make big free agent decisions in reference to their contracts.</p><p>Correa was always expected to opt out of his deal with the Minnesota Twins he signed during the offseason. The<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/twins-news-minnesota-stuns-baseball-world-by-signing-carlos-correa/"> signing itself came as a shock</a>. Some people even predicted that the shortstop would get traded ahead of the deadline if the team struggled. However, Minnesota is in playoff contention and obviously kept Carlos Correa. Heyman stated that as long as Correa avoids injury moving forward, he is “likely to opt out of his deal.”</p><p>His presence in MLB free agency will only boost the booming shortstop market. Correa would join the likes of fellow star shortstops such as Trea Turner, Dansby Swanson, and likely Xander Bogaerts (who also has an opt-out with the Red Sox) in free agency.</p><p>Meanwhile, Justin Verlander’s situation is different. Carlos Correa will turn just 28 later this season. However, Verlander will be 40 years old next year. Nonetheless, Heyman stated that Verlander will opt out as well barring injury. The veteran Houston Astros star pitcher would likely win the AL Cy Young if the season ended today, so he’s destined to see a big payday in <a href="http://fanatics.93n6tx.net/15LrJR" rel="noopener">MLB</a> free agency.</p><p>The only question would be length of contract. Teams would presumably be hesitant to give him a multi-year deal. So Verlander may need to settle for a one-year contract worth a lot of money. If a team was willing to offer two or more years, the right-hander would probably accept it. But then again, retirement may also be on the horizon. With that being said, Verlander is showing no signs of decline in his age-39 campaign.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Carlos Correa, Justin Verlander’s opt-out plans for upcoming free agency, revealed

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Framber-Valdez-gets-200-million-vote-of-confidence-after-dominating-win-1.jpeg"></figure><h1>Astros SP Framber Valdez gets $200 million vote of confidence after dominating win</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2022-08-11T17:01:13-07:00">August 11th, 5:01pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2022-08-11T17:01:13-07:00">August 11th, 5:01pm</time><address><a>Kendall Capps</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>On Thursday afternoon, Houston Astros starting pitcher Framber Valdez took the hill against the Texas Rangers. To no one’s surprise, he dominated once again. Valdez tossed seven shutout innings in a 7-3 victory. With the win, Valdez improved to 11-4 striking out eight.</p><p>After the game, Astros catcher Martin Maldonado talked about what it was like catching for him. He left reporters with a <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkBermanFox26/status/1557844993758310400">juicy quote.</a></p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Martín Maldonado says Framber Valdez is a $200 million pitcher: “I think Framber is a $200 million pitcher. That’s how high I am on Framber.” <a href="https://t.co/tsKlIEPiw4">pic.twitter.com/tsKlIEPiw4</a></p><p>— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkBermanFox26/status/1557844993758310400?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 11, 2022</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“I think Framber is a $200 million pitcher. That’s how high I am on Framber,” Maldonado said.</p><p>With the season Valdez is having, it’s becoming hard to argue with Maldonado’s assessment. Framber Valdez lowered his ERA to 2.74 with the dominating performance. But it has been his consistency that is remarkable. Thursday was his 19th consecutive quality start this season. The last time he did not earn a quality start was way back on April 19th against the Los Angeles Angels.</p><p>In order to qualify for a quality start, the pitcher must last at least six innings and allow three runs or less. There is no wiggle room, either. Even if runs score unearned, if it is more than three it doesn’t count. That’s really difficult to do 19 times in a row.</p><p>The MLB record for most consecutive quality starts is held by two men. Cardinals legend Bob Gibson pitched 26 in a row spanning the 1967 and 1968 seasons. Then, Mets ace Jacob deGrom matched that feat during the 2018-2019 seasons.</p><p>The Astros arguably boast baseball’s best rotation. AL Cy Young front runner Justin Verlander leads the rotation, followed by Valdez, Cristian Javier, Luis Garcia and Jose Urquidy. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/astros-news-lance-mccullers-gets-massive-injury-update-that-should-worry-yankees-fans/" rel="noopener">rich are about to get richer</a> as news surfaced that Lance McCullers is expected to make his season debut Saturday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Astros SP Framber Valdez gets $200 million vote of confidence after dominating win

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/MLB_Odds_Rangers_vs._Astros_prediction_odds_and_pick_-_8112022.jpg"></figure><h1>MLB Odds: Rangers vs. Astros prediction, odds and pick – 8/11/2022</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2022-08-11T08:47:31-07:00">August 11th, 8:47am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2022-08-11T08:48:11-07:00">August 11th, 8:48am</time><address><a>Brendan Smith</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">Betting</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Texas Rangers and Houston Astros will finish their three-game series on Thursday in Houston. With that said, it’s a good time to check out our MLB odds <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/betting/">series</a>, which includes our Rangers-Astros prediction and pick we have laid out below.</p><p>Texas, after a whirlwind of an offseason, sits at 49-61, 21 games out in the AL West, and nine in the wild card race. There are plenty of intriguing pieces on the roster and the upper levels of the minors, but alas, those pieces have not led to success this season.</p><p>Houston has been the envy of the league since going through a lengthy rebuild at the beginning of the 2010s. Now, Houston is tied for the second-best record in the MLB at 71-41. Yes, it is only August, but Houston has all but wrapped up the AL West crown.</p><p><b><i>Here are the Rangers-Astros MLB odds, </i></b><a href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/navigation/mlb"><b><i>courtesy of FanDuel.</i></b></a><b><i> </i></b></p><h2><b>MLB Odds: Rangers-Astros Odds</b></h2><p>Texas Rangers: +1.5 (+105)</p><p>Houston Astros: -1.5 (-126)</p><p>Over: 8 (-115)</p><p>Under: 8 (-105)</p><h2><b>Why The Rangers Could Cover The Spread</b></h2><p>Texas signed two prominent middle infielders this offseason, adding Corey Seager and Marcus Semien. The two have been great this season, combining for 41 home runs and 31 doubles in 2022. Semien has added 19 stolen bases, one of three Rangers batters with double-digit stolen bases. As a team, Texas is second in the league with 86 stolen bases. Their 136 home runs are tied for eighth in the league. The offense has not been an issue for Texas, as seven players have reached double-digit home run totals. Adolis Garcia has belted 19 home runs and a team-leading 71 RBI. Catcher Jonah Heim, in his first extended playing time, has hit 13 home runs with a .442 slugging percentage.</p><p>It is no secret that pitching has been the kryptonite for this team. Texas’ 4.05 ERA ranks 20th in the league, and their 1.31 WHIP is 22nd. This afternoon, lefty Cole Ragans will be making his second career start. If you don’t know the story of Cole Ragans, do yourself a favor and google it. Ragans debuted spectacularly last week against the Chicago White Sox, tossing five innings with just one unearned run. Texas’ bullpen is slightly above-average, with their 3.72 ERA ranking 12th in the league. Lefties Brock Burke and Matt Moore have combined to a 1.58 ERA in 108.2 innings. Jonathan Hernandez has been solid in his eight innings, with a 2.25 ERA and two saves.</p><h2><b>Why The Astros Could Cover The Spread</b></h2><p>Houston has almost no holes on their roster following the trade deadline. Catcher Christian Vazquez is a clear upgrade, and Trey Mancini is finally playing for a contender. These two additions have added fuel to the fire of an already potent offense. Yordan Alvarez has 31 home runs and a .401 on-base percentage, both tops on the team. Kyle Tucker has chipped in with 20 home runs and 16 stolen bases. As a team, Houston has launched 154 home runs, third-most in the league, and their 194 doubles are ninth-most in the league. Alex Bregman has overcome his slow start and has rebounded to a .251 batting average with 56 RBI.</p><p>Houston will send lefty Framber Valdez to the mound this afternoon. Valdez has a 2.87 ERA in his 21 starts, including two complete games. Valdez is the only member of the starting rotation with less than double-digit home runs surrendered. Valdez’s high spin curveball is epic, and batters have hit just .151 against it, striking out 76 times. The Houston bullpen is arguably the best group in the league, with a league-leading 2.72 ERA, striking out 375 batters in 341 innings. Rafael Montero (1.55 ERA) and Ryne Stanek (1.15 ERA) have been two of the best relievers in the league. Closer Ryan Pressley has been phenomenal as well, with a 2.91 ERA and 22 saves.</p><h2><b>Final Rangers-Astros Prediction &amp; Pick</b></h2><p>No need to overthink this one.</p><p><b>Final Rangers-Astros Prediction &amp; Pick: Houston -1.5 (-126), over 8 (-105)</b></p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

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