HOUSTON (Interstat) — The Chicago White Sox and Houston Astros open their playoff series Tuesday at Daikin Park in a Game 1 matchup. The White Sox enter at 85-79. The Astros are 82-81. The game-time forecast calls for 90 degrees.

Chicago is expected to send Hagen Smith to the mound. Smith is 3-3 this season. AJ Blubaugh, who is 5-3, also is listed as a probable pitcher for Chicago.

Anthony Kay is a player to watch for the White Sox. In his most recent outing, Kay worked five innings and allowed one earned run on five hits with two walks and four strikeouts in a win over Colorado. He also had a scoreless four-inning performance at Cleveland. In his last five appearances, he gave up four earned runs in four innings at Kansas City, three earned runs in four innings at St. Louis, and five earned runs in 4 1/3 innings against Minnesota. Kay has been used often down the stretch.

Ethan Pecko is a player to watch for Houston. Pecko has allowed one earned run or fewer in four of his last five appearances. He tossed three scoreless innings with one hit and two strikeouts in his latest outing, a win at the Athletics. He struck out four in 5 2/3 innings against Kansas City and four more in 5 2/3 innings at Tampa Bay, taking the loss in the latter. He allowed three earned runs in 2 2/3 innings at Seattle.

Houston won five of the seven most recent meetings between the teams, including the last two. The Astros took the most recent matchup 6-2. Chicago closed the regular season with a 4-2 home win over Colorado, while Houston finished with a 9-0 win at the Athletics.

The White Sox will look to carry momentum from their latest win. Randal Grichuk homered and drove in two runs in that victory, and Trevor Richards added 3 1/3 innings of one-run relief. Houston’s Christian Walker homered and drove in a run in its final regular-season win, while Peter Lambert threw two scoreless innings.

The teams met seven times during the regular season. Houston went 3-1 in four games at home and 2-1 in three games in Chicago. Chicago’s most recent win in the series came by a 5-1 score. Houston answered with two straight wins to close the regular-season set.

Interstat’s game simulator projects Houston to edge Chicago 8-7. Interstat’s ELO system gives Houston a 53.3 percent chance to win. Houston is the pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The over/under is 8.