The Houston Astros open a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox on Friday at Rate Field, pitting a team fighting to climb back into the AL West race against one of baseball’s biggest surprises this season.
Chicago enters the series at 54-47, holding a one-game lead in the AL Central and riding one of the sport’s most notable turnarounds after consecutive 100-loss seasons in 2024 and 2025. The White Sox have leaned on a retooled approach to hitting development, with director of hitting Ryan Fuller’s staff using biomechanical data to help players like Jacob Gonzalez, Colson Montgomery, and Miguel Vargas unlock power that had been hiding in their swings. Montgomery has hit 45 home runs across a full season’s worth of plate appearances, while Vargas made his first All-Star team after a bat-speed jump lifted his slugging percentage to a career-best .497.
Houston, at 50-54, arrives having won three straight to sweep the Marlins to close out its last series, fueled by Yordan Alvarez’s major-league-leading 34 home runs and 77 RBIs.
Friday’s opener matches Houston’s Spencer Arrighetti against Chicago’s Davis Martin. Arrighetti (7-5, 4.34 ERA) has been shaky lately, giving up heavy run totals in most of his recent turns through the rotation, while Martin (9-5, 3.31 ERA) has been sharper, holding opponents down in the bulk of his last several outings. In two prior starts against Houston this season, Martin is 0-1 with an ERA over 5.00 across 11 innings.
Saturday’s game brings a notable pitching matchup, as Houston’s Hunter Brown opposes Sean Burke, who leads Chicago’s pitching staff with 7 wins, a 3.20 ERA, and 120 strikeouts, the best strikeout total on the roster. Brown, last year’s top-three AL Cy Young finisher, has made just eight starts this season after an extended injury absence.
Ronel Blanco is scheduled to start the series finale Sunday against Chicago’s Erick Fedde, in what will be his second start of the season since returning from Tommy John surgery. He made his 2026 debut this past Monday against the Marlins. Fedde, 33, is 4-6 with a 4.34 ERA across 18 appearances this season, a bounce-back of sorts after he was 4-13 with a 5.49 ERA in 2025 split between three different organizations; he’s worked frequently as a bulk reliever behind an opener rather than as a traditional starter for much of the year.
Chicago has been especially difficult at home this season, holding a 31-19 record at Rate Field. Houston, meanwhile, has won 32 of 61 games this season when entering as the underdog, a 52.5 percent clip.
