After a rough Monday night, the White Sox are turning right back around and handing the ball to their ace as they try to steady things against the Astros on Tuesday at Daikin Park.
Chicago enters at 72-65, Houston at 70-68, with first pitch set for 7:10 CT. The game will be on CHSN, with ESPN Chicago WMVP 1000 AM carrying the radio call.
The Sox are lining up left-handed bats early and often against Houston righty Ronel Blanco. Sam Antonacci leads off in left, followed by Munetaka Murakami at first, Miguel Vargas at third and Andrew Benintendi as the DH. Colson Montgomery hits fifth at shortstop, then Randal Grichuk in right, Tristan Peters in center, Chase Meidroth at second and Drew Romo behind the plate.
Murakami remains the biggest question in the middle of the order. He has been stuck in a .111/.304/.241 slump over his last 15 games, with 24 strikeouts in 54 at-bats, though he did homer off Blanco earlier this season. The Sox will be hoping this is the night he finally snaps out of it.
Montgomery, meanwhile, keeps climbing. He’s been seeing the ball much better lately, and Monday was another step forward: 2-for-3 with a home run and two walks. The raw numbers still have room to move, but the at-bats are starting to look a lot cleaner.
Braden Montgomery is out of the lineup, which opens the door for Grichuk in right field. It’s a curious move against a right-hander, especially with Braden Montgomery slumping at .167/.219/.200 over his last seven games and drawing questions on defense. Peters also moves up one spot to seventh, swapping places with Meidroth, while Romo slides into the nine spot.
Houston counters with Jeremy Peña at short, Yordan Alvarez at DH, Isaac Paredes at third, José Altuve at second, LaMonte Wade Jr. in left, Christian Walker at first, Yainer Diaz catching, Taylor Trammell in center and Cam Smith in right.
The bigger spotlight is on Sean Burke. He’s been one of Chicago’s bright spots for most of the season, but his last outing was a mess. Against the Rangers, Burke lasted just three innings, allowed two runs and issued eight walks in an outing that looked nothing like the ace the Sox have leaned on.
Chicago needs a reset from him in a hurry. If Burke gets back on track, it changes the feel of this series immediately.
Blanco, for his part, is still working back after Tommy John surgery and made his first appearance since early 2025 in July. He saw the White Sox on July 26 and gave up five runs in 5.1 innings. For the season, he owns a 7.71 ERA in five games, four of them starts.
For Chicago, the formula is simple: hit Blanco hard and get a rebound from Burke. Anything less makes this one a much tougher ask.
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