Houston at Chicago

We were on Houston's moneyline Tuesday, and Tatsuya Imai delivered eight strikeouts in a win over Miami that's since turned into a four-game winning streak for the Astros, including both games of this series in Chicago. That's the actual shape of this matchup, and it's the strongest case against today's pick. But the pitcher on the mound for Houston has nothing to do with that streak. Ronel Blanco is making just his second big-league start in over fourteen months, working back from Tommy John surgery, and his return outing against Miami came with three walks and two home runs allowed over less than five innings, the markers of a pitcher still finding his rhythm off a long layoff. I like Chicago here: the White Sox are the better team by record this year, sitting atop the AL Central, and both the sharp money and the reverse line movement in this game are already pointing the same way. Erick Fedde doesn't need to be sharp against a lineup that's catching Houston's rotation still working back to full strength. Back the White Sox today.