The Houston Astros were defeated by the Chicago White Sox 5-1 on Tuesday night inside Daikin Park. With the loss, the Astros lead in the AL West is back down to just one game.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Astros (70-69) went with Ronel Blanco on the mound, who was just called back up from AAA. Blanco was able to post a zero in the first.
The White Sox (73-65) countered with Sean Burke. After a couple of walks to start the game, Burke worked out of trouble to keep things scoreless.
Blanco would give the Astros four scoreless innings in his return to the big leagues. The lone problem was pitch count, as Blanco ran it up to 88 pitches across those four frames. He gave way to the Houston bullpen for the fifth, which is when the White Sox got on the board.
Chicago took the lead on an Andrew Benintendi RBI single. Then, they kept the scoring going with a two-run double by Colson Montgomery. That gave them a 3-0 lead halfway through the game.
Meanwhile, Burke settled in and was excellent on the mound. He would go five and two-thirds scoreless, allowing just one hit while striking out six Astros.
Chicago would extend their lead to 5-0 after a two-run double by Randal Grichuk.
Houston’s lone run of the contest came on a solo shot from Isaac Paredes. However, the White Sox cruised to a 5-1 victory.
BIG NUMBER: 3
The Astros’ offense struggled on this night, getting just three hits. They scored only one run and never found their footing against the Chicago pitching staff.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Colon Montgomery
Montgomery went 2-4 and drove in two for the White Sox in this game. He helped pace the offense in a victory.
UP NEXT: The Astros and White Sox will play again at 7:10 PM tomorrow night. You can listen to the action on ESPN 103.7 Lafayette 104.1 Lake Charles.