White Sox Stun Astros Once More, Top Lance McCullers Jr.

The Chicago White Sox came to town with the fewest wins, 22, in the American League.

But matching up with the Houston Astros hasn't been a problem this season.

Chicago made it three wins in four games against Houston this season, beating the Astros 4-2 on Tuesday night at Daikin Park in the opener of a six-game homestand.

The Astros outhit the White Sox 9-4 but got an uneven start from Lance McCullers Jr. and found timely hits elusive, going 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position.

Houston, which remains atop the AL West, fell to 36-30.

Late rally falls short

Trailing 4-1 in the eighth inning against reliever Steven Wilson, the Astros loaded the bases with no outs after sandwiching singles by Jeremy Peña and Jose Altuve around a walk to Isaac Paredes.

Yainer Diaz then hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Pena and send Paredes to third.

But with the tying run on base, Wilson struck out Christian Walker after a seven-pitch battle. Jake Meyers then flew out to center, where Luis Robert Jr. made a sliding catch on the sinking line drive.

McCullers lacks control

McCullers, who started against the White Sox on May 4 in his return after missing two-plus seasons after flexor tendon surgery, saw most of the damage done against him with two outs.

With two outs and the bases empty in the second inning, McCullers was up 0-2 on Kyle Teel before walking him. That proved costly as Luis Robert Jr., who had been 3-for-31 with 15 strikeouts in his past 10 games, roped a double to right field to score Teel.

Things got worse for McCullers in the third. First, he gave up a one-out double to Mike Tauchman before walking Chase Meidroth and Andrew Benintendi to load the bases. McCullers then got Miguel Vargas to pop up for the second out but couldn't escape the inning unscathed as Edgar Quero lined a two-run single to left for a 3-0 lead.

After the Astros got within a run in the bottom of the inning, McCullers gave up a leadoff homer to Robert in the fourth. It was Robert's eighth in 21 games against the Astros, against whom he entered the series with a .368 career average and 1.111 OPS.

McCullers went at least five innings for the third straight start, striking out six to four walks while allowing four hits, three of which went for extra bases.

Double (play) trouble

The Astros didn't lack traffic on the bases against White Sox starter Shane Smith, striking seven hits and drawing two walks in six innings. But the rookie right-hander found ways to get out of trouble.

Smith induced three inning-ending double plays to cut short Houston rallies. He minimized the damage in the one inning the Astros scored against him, in the third.

With runners on second and third with one out, Smith allowed a run-scoring sacrifice fly by Isaac Paredes. After a walk to Yainer Diaz, Smith got Jose Altuve to fly out to end the threat.

Melton in again

Rookie outfielder Jacob Melton drew his seventh start in eight games since being called up from Triple-A Sugar Land, playing left field and batting ninth.

"His swing decisions have been solid." Espada said pregame. "He's gotten a couple of big walks for us. I also like the speed on the bases. He hits balls hard. We need him to hit the ball in the air more here so we're working on that. I think his at-bats overall have been solid."

With Yordan Alvarez still sidelined, Melton provides another left-handed option for Espada beyond catcher Victor Caratini, a switch hitter.

"It's always good to have a balanced lifneup where we have some left-handed hitters in there," Espada said. "We're trying to get him going so we can get more production out of that spot. So far, he's got some quality at-bats and getting on base some will really help the depth of our lineup."

"I do want to give him a long look here so that's whay I'm trying to get him in there as much as possible. I've also got to be aware that he's coming off some injuries. I do kind of have a map for him how often I can play him. I'm trying to maximize those games that he can start."

Melton has also played some sound defense, with a highlight-reel catch Friday in Cleveland and a nice sliding grab Tuesday to rob Josh Rojas of a hit.

Related Reading

After dealing with a sore shoulder, Texans' C.J. Stroud is throwing again. How he looked in return.

Former Texans receiver Stefon Diggs talks to reporters about boat video and pink substance

The 2026 FIFA World Cup starts one year from Wednesday. Where does Houston stand?

Subscribe

There’s more to Houston with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25¢.