Astros beat White Sox 6-2, take 3 of 4 in Houston
Houston beat Chicago 6-2 in the finale to take 3 of 4, and the rotation trouble deepened as Luis Castillo's six-start slide continued and Ky Bush's season ended before tonight's opener with the Twins.
Astros take 3 of 4, cut into the White Sox's cushion
Houston closed the series the way it opened it. Hunter Brown worked six strong innings, Jose Altuve hit a two-run homer and Daniel Varsho added a two-run triple as the Astros beat the White Sox 6-2 on September 3, according to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. Luis Castillo took the loss, going just 4.0 innings and allowing 6 earned runs on 6 hits with 2 walks and 3 strikeouts.
Astros3-6Astros5-1Astros0-2Astros2-6The Astros won three of the four games: 6-3 on August 31, then 2-0 on September 2 behind what McTaggart called a gem from Hayden Wesneski, with Bryan Abreu escaping a jam and Isaac Paredes delivering the go-ahead hit. Chicago's only win came on September 1, 5-1. The White Sox are 1-4 in their last 5 but still lead the AL Central at 73-67, three games up on Cleveland (70-70), which carries an elimination number of 20; Minnesota (67-73) sits 6.0 back.
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Castillo's clunker was part of a broader stretch: he has a 6.91 ERA and 1.83 WHIP over his last six starts, per Brian McTaggart. The one bright spot on the mound during the series was Davis Martin, whose return from the injured list stood out amid the loss, Scott Merkin of MLB.com wrote, quoting Martin: "Every day has its own little wins, and I need to make sure I'm checking the box."
The bullpen news was worse. Ky Bush has been shut down for the season with a strained left lat, Merkin reports. Prelander Berroa is scheduled to begin throwing off a mound next week as he works back from his elbow injury, also per Merkin, while Huascar Brazoban began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte on Wednesday, according to James Fegan of the Chicago Sun-Times.
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Erick Fedde (7-8, 4.16 ERA) gets the ball as the White Sox host the Twins tonight, coming off a win over Minnesota on August 29 in which he allowed 2 earned runs over 5.0 innings with 4 strikeouts and 2 walks. Minnesota counters with Zebby Matthews (9-8, 4.58 ERA), who already beat Chicago once this stretch, throwing 8.1 innings of 1-run ball with 5 strikeouts and no walks on 103 pitches in an August 30 win over the Sox.
Chicago is favored at home, and the total points to a high-scoring night. That reads right if Fedde pitches closer to his season form than his last outing suggests and the lineup that scored just 5 runs across the last 4 games against Houston finds it against a Twins staff that has already gotten the better of it once this week.