The Boston Red Sox rebounded from a tough home loss in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series and are just two wins away from dethroning the 2017 World Series champion Houston Astros. In what could be considered a must-win game for the Astros, they'll have the chance to even up the series at two games apiece at home Wednesday night.

Manager Alex Cora will send Rick Porcello to the mound in Game 4. Porcello has gone back and forth between the rotation and the bullpen this postseason, working in relief in Game 1 of the AL Division Series against the New York Yankees before pitching five solid innings and locking up the decision as Boston clinched that series in Game 4 at Yankee Stadium on Oct. 9.

Opposing Porcello will be Charlie Morton in his first appearance since Sept. 30. Morton, who was 2-1 with a 4.24 ERA in the 2017 postseason, will be coming into the game on extremely extended rest after suffering shoulder fatigue earlier this month. He is coming off the best regular-season campaign of his career, with a 15-3 record, and a 3.13 ERA. It's unknown how deep into the game Morton might work against the Red Sox.

ALCS Game 4: Astros vs. Red Sox

  • Date: Wednesday, Oct. 17
  • Time: 8:39 p.m. ET
  • Location: Minute Maid Park in Houston
  • TV channel: TBS
  • Streaming: fuboTV (Try for free) 
  • Live stats: GameTracker
  • Odds: Astros -145 / Red Sox +135
  • Picks: Check SportsLine's MLB pick sheet for all your daily odds.

Storylines

Astros: The Astros are going to have play like Game 4 is a win-or-go-home game because if they fall to a 3-1 hole, it's more than likely over for them. The Red Sox are hosting Games 6 and 7, so even if the Astros pulled off two-straight wins at home to take a 3-2 lead, it's going to be tough to beat a team that was 57-24 at home this regular-season. The Astros also need to get more production from their lineup, batting just .194 in this series. Aside from Alex Bregman and George Springer, Houston hasn't as much clutch hitting as they would like.

Red Sox: Boston has stolen all the momentum back from the defending world champion after a dominant Game 3 performance, but it's now a question of whether or not it can hang onto win two more games in this series still in Houston. They definitely have a lineup that's capable of grinding through at-bats and making Houston work hard for every single out, and you pair that with their right-handed bullpen (Houston hit .246 against righties), the Sox have a serious chance to win this game.

Game prediction, picks

Even though the Houston offense has not been up to par in this series, I'm still going to give Houston a slight edge over Boston for Game 4 at Minute Maid Park. Porcello is going to have to be perfect with his pitch locations in order to have a chance at shutting the Astros down and I think that Houston's going to break him early on in the game, enough to give them a victory and tie the series at 2-2.

Pick: Astros -145

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