Houston Astros' bats struggle in loss to Chicago White Sox as AL West lead narrows

Ten major-league teams scored fewer runs than the Houston Astros in the month of August. Two are the teams just behind them in the American League West, helping explain how the Astros ended the month with a two-game division lead.

September began with a reminder that their standing remains tenuous. The Chicago White Sox handed them a 5-1 loss Tuesday, in which their lineup struck three hits and their starter turned in another short performance, paring their advantage atop the division.

With the Rangers and Mariners both winning Tuesday, the Astros ended the night with a one-game lead over Texas and a five-game edge on Seattle. Five more games remain against the White Sox and Arizona before a trying 13-day stretch gives way to a breather.

Their offense looked listless Tuesday. Chicago starter Sean Burke allowed one hit while working into the sixth inning at Daikin Park. Isaac Paredes’ eighth-inning home run on a fly ball into the Crawford Boxes delivered the offense’s only damage.

Jordan Hicks, the right-hander who surrendered it, walked his next two batters, gift-wrapping a possible rally. It fizzled as Christian Walker swung through a 99.9 mph fastball to end the inning. Houston hitters drew six walks but struck out 12 times. Taylor Trammell had two of the team’s three hits.

“They threw the ball really well today,” manager Joe Espada said. “Outside of the home run, and we walked six times, we just didn’t get much offense going. But they threw the ball really well against us.”

Astros pitchers issued seven walks, a night after tying their season high with 10. Ronel Blanco, recalled from Triple-A for the start, gave the Astros four scoreless innings. But a high pitch count prevented him from going further. Houston turned to Kai-Wei Teng in the fifth of a scoreless game.

Chicago led 3-0 before the half-inning ended. Teng clipped Sam Antonacci with a two-strike sweeper. He struck out the dangerous Munetaka Murakami for the inning’s second out. But Miguel Vargas worked a walk. Andrew Benintendi pulled a single inside the right-field line, scoring one run.

Colson Montgomery drove in two more with his double to a similar spot. The White Sox added two runs in the seventh against Tatsuya Imai, who worked the final three innings for Houston, pitching for the first time since Aug. 20.

The White Sox stranded 10 runners but still gave their pitchers ample support, as the Astros went 0-for-7 with men in scoring position and left eight runners on base.

WHITE SOX 5, ASTROS 1

Totals3458579Antonacci lf310011.267Murakami 1b410013.215Vargas 3b412010.251Benintendi dh511101.247C.Montgomery ss412212.216Grichuk rf401201.272Doyle cf100001.212Peters cf-rf300010.276Meidroth 2b402000.273Romo c200020.143Totals30131612Peña ss300011.281Alvarez dh200022.316Paredes 3b411100.256Altuve 2b300011.246Wade lf200002.206a-Velázquez ph-lf100010.191Walker 1b400003.227Diaz c400002.258Trammell cf302011.209C.Smith rf400000.212Chicago000030200_580Houston000000010_130

a-lined out for Wade in the 6th.

LOB_Chicago 10, Houston 8. 2B_C.Montgomery (22), Meidroth (27), Grichuk (21), Trammell (7). HR_Paredes (18), off Hicks. RBIs_Benintendi (70), C.Montgomery 2 (79), Grichuk 2 (34), Paredes (74). SB_Trammell (4).

Runners left in scoring position_Chicago 5 (Peters, Antonacci, Grichuk, C.Montgomery, Meidroth); Houston 4 (Wade, Peña, Walker, C.Smith). RISP_Chicago 3 for 10; Houston 0 for 7.

Runners moved up_Benintendi, Peters, C.Smith.

Burke, W, 8-652-3100461043.20Hudson, H, 911-310002173.09Hicks111122254.54Taylor100002142.00Blanco430033886.59Teng, L, 5-7233311354.66Imai322235595.35

Inherited runners-scored_Hudson 1-0. HBP_Teng (Antonacci).

ABS Challenge_Blanco (Ball-Overturned to Strike); Burke (Ball-Confirmed); Imai (Ball-Confirmed); Trammell (Strike-Overturned to Ball); Smith (Strike-Confirmed); Antonacci (Strike-Confirmed).

Pitch timer violations_Montgomery (batter).

Umpires_Home, Shane Livensparger; First, Dan Merzel; Second, Dan Bellino; Third, Mark Ripperger.

T_3:07. A_26,838 (41,000).

Sean Burke blanks Astros’ lineup

Burke entered with a 3.32 ERA in 27 outings, including a July 25 start against Houston in which he struck out 10 batters in six innings. In his last start, Burke had issued eight walks in three innings against Texas. Walking his first two hitters Tuesday hinted at more command issues.

The Astros could not take advantage before Burke began to settle in. He threw 31 pitches in the first but did not allow a run. He navigated another walk in his second inning. He did not allow a hit until the fifth and left in the sixth with Houston still scoreless, an effective if laborious outing.

Burke walked four but allowed just one hit, a double scorched by Trammell in the fifth. He worked around the hit, getting Cam Smith to ground out and striking out Jeremy Peña swinging at a slider.

Burke induced 12 whiffs on 51 swings. A whopping 27 foul balls drove up his pitch count. But of 12 balls put into play against him, just four had an exit velocity over 95 mph, the Statcast hard-hit threshold. The right-hander mixed five different pitches and made his way into the sixth.

He began it with a walk to Yordan Alvarez but induced a pop-up by Paredes and got Jose Altuve to chase a two-strike slider. The latter was his 104th pitch, a career-high, and his last. Bryan Hudson retired pinch-hitter Nelson Velázquez to strand the runner he bequeathed.

Ronel Blanco lasts four innings

Houston recalled Blanco from Triple-A to start Tuesday with modest expectations. Blanco, who returned to the majors from elbow surgery July 20, posted a 7.71 ERA in five outings before being sent down. He allowed 10 runs in his last start at Triple-A, albeit in hitter-friendly conditions in Las Vegas.

Espada said pregame the hope was Blanco “can give us some good quality innings … We’re a little bit thin in the bullpen, so hopefully he can cover and give us a shot to win this game.”

Blanco covered just four innings, needing 88 pitches to complete them. But he did accomplish the latter, not allowing a run while navigating six baserunners.

It was far from a strong outing. Blanco threw 41% of his pitches in-zone and got nine whiffs on 40 swings. He walked three batters his first time through the lineup. Tristian Peters’ decision to try for third base on a single to left field in the second inning – struck by Chase Meidroth in a 10-pitch at-bat – helped Blanco, as LaMonte Wade Jr. cut down Peters for the inning’s second out.

Blanco still finished the second at 58 pitches. Teng began warming before the inning ended. He sat down during a 12-pitch third for Blanco but started throwing again in the fourth. Blanco navigated a leadoff single by Colson Montgomery in that inning, his last. Just one of Blanco’s five major-league starts since his return has lasted five innings. He did depart this one with a 0-0 tie intact.

“It feels very good to be back up here and provide for the team,” Blanco said, through interpreter Otto Loor. “With the outing, I feel very good. I feel like I was out there competing and I felt great out there.”

Tatsuya Imai appears

As the Astros fell behind in the fifth, Imai began to warm in their bullpen. That has become a rare sight. Imai, Houston’s marquee signing last offseason, pitched three times during August after being demoted to the bullpen. He had last appeared Aug. 20 in mop-up duty in a double-digit loss.

In game eight of 13 in a row, with the Astros’ bullpen taxed and their offense sputtering, he reappeared in a three-run deficit. Imai started warming in the fifth, but Teng returned to the mound for the sixth. A scoreless bottom of the sixth from the middle of the order resulted in Imai entering for the seventh.

He walked his first batter, Murakami, and his fourth. Both proved costly as Randal Grichuk struck an 0-2 fastball for a two-run double. Smith prevented a bigger inning with a leaping catch at the wall that robbed Peters of a two-run homer.

Imai worked two more innings scoreless. In his three innings, he allowed two hits, walked three batters and struck out five.

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This article originally published at Houston Astros’ bats struggle in loss to Chicago White Sox as AL West lead narrows.

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