The Chicago White Sox didn’t let Monday’s ugly loss linger. On Tuesday, they answered with a 5-1 win over the Houston Astros, and the turnaround started on the mound.
Sean Burke needed a clean reset after his rough last outing against the Texas Rangers, when he lasted only three innings and issued eight walks. He didn’t look spotless this time either - Burke walked four, including two in the first inning - but he battled through 5.2 innings, allowed just one hit, didn’t give up a run and struck out six. It was the kind of gritty outing the White Sox were searching for.
The bullpen did the rest. Bryan Hudson handled 1.1 shutout innings and appears to be finding his footing again after a shaky run; he now owns a 2.57 ERA over his last seven games.
Jordan Hicks followed after surrendering three runs in each of his previous two appearances. He struck out AL MVP favorite Yordan Alvarez, but also allowed a solo homer to Isaac Paredes and issued two walks.
Grant Taylor finished it off with two strikeouts.
Chicago also had to dig itself out offensively. After managing only seven runs combined over its previous three games, the White Sox needed a jolt, and at first Ronel Blanco made that look unlikely. Blanco threw four shutout innings, and Chicago was struggling badly with runners in scoring position before the bullpen entered early and opened the door.
Then the White Sox finally broke through with a two-out rally. Andrew Benintendi kept his clutch stretch going with an RBI single, and Colson Montgomery followed with a two-run double.
Benintendi reached 70 RBI for the season, a notable mark for a player who has spent this year as more of a platoon option. It’s also his highest RBI total since 2021 with the Kansas City Royals.
Montgomery may be shaking off his slump as well. He went 2-for-4 with a walk on Tuesday and is hitting .273/.355/.509 over his last 15 games. Randal Grichuk added another big swing with a two-run double, giving his recent stretch a much-needed lift after a rough seven-game run.
With the series now tied, Chicago will try to take control on Wednesday. The White Sox have not yet named a starter, but the situation could line up for Davis Martin to return from the injured list.
Houston is set to counter with Hayden Wesneski, who came back from Tommy John surgery on July 29 and has posted a 3.86 ERA with 28 strikeouts in 32.2 innings over six starts. For the White Sox, the formula is clear: jump on Wesneski early, the way they failed to do against Blanco.
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Astros Have A September Roster Decision Fans Should Watch Closely
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Miguel Ullola has been one of the names to follow, while Cavan Biggio and Trenton Brooks have also made cases for themselves with recent strong work in Triple-A. For a club looking to patch holes and deepen the bench, those kinds of internal options matter, and the decision on who gets the nod should tell fans a lot about how Houston plans to manage the stretch run. [Read more 🡒]
Astros September Push Could Come Down To One Carlos Correa Update
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Amid all of that, the biggest swing factor may be Carlos Correa, who is set for a medical checkup tied to his ankle surgery. His status has become one of the more important September questions for Houston because any chance of him returning this season would add another layer to an already tense stretch run, while a setback would leave the Astros to navigate the final month without knowing if that reinforcement is coming at all. [Read more 🡒]
Astros May Have Quietly Found A Prospect Who Changes The Infield Conversation
A year after signing Max Holy as a nondrafted free agent, the Astros have reason to keep watching the 24-year-old shortstop closely. What has pushed him into the conversation is not the bat, which has been up and down at times, but the kind of defense that can change how an organization thinks about depth in the middle infield. Houston has been rebuilding its lower-level picture with an eye toward versatility and reliability, and Holy has started to stand out in exactly that lane.
Astros minor league field coordinator Micheal Thomas has been especially high on Holys work, pointing to his range, arm and reaction time while drawing a comparison to David Eckstein. Even after a promotion to Corpus Christi brought more offensive inconsistency, Holy has stayed one of the stronger defensive names in the system. For a club that values run prevention and internal options, that makes him a prospect worth tracking a little more seriously than his profile might suggest at first glance. [Read more 🡒]