Astros 3, White Sox 0: Bullpen showed up but the offense didn’t
It was going to be a tough night for the White Sox facing the Houston Astros who have one of the best offenses in baseball. Having to use the bullpen to cover all nine innings was not ideal with Manny Banuelos on the mend. With not having a day off again until June 3rd it was important that the bullpen be efficient.
Ryan Burr started the night and ran into trouble in the first inning after walking Alex Bregman. Michael Brantley, who has turned out to be a great free agent signing for Houston, singled to right field. After Charlie Tilson bobbled the ball, it allowed Bregman to advance an extra base. With runners on the corners, Carlos Correa hit a sacrifice fly to center, and the Astros went up 1-0.
The second inning went much better for Burr who only needed nine pitches to send the Astros down in order. His final line was 2 IP 1 H 1 R 0 ER 1 BB 1 K.
Next up was Jace Fry having an opportunity to pitch a clean inning to get back on track and look more like his 2018 self. Instead, Jake Marisnick took the first pitch against Fry into the Crawford Boxes for his fifth home run of 2019. Up 2-0, the Astros continued to apply the pressure as Josh Reddick and Bregman hit back-to-back singles. With no outs, Brantley hit a sharp grounder that Jose Abreu made an excellent pick on, spun to make a strong throw to second for the first out, and was able to quickly shuffle back to first to complete the 3-6-3 double play.
Rick Renteria replaced Fry with Jose Ruiz with Reddick on third base to face Correa. Four straight balls to Correa and it was back to runners on the corners for Houston. Ruiz was able to get out of the jam when Yuli Gurriel hit a pop fly to shallow right field that Yolmer Sanchez was able to run down in foul territory.
Next inning, Ruiz allowed a monster home run to Tyler White, his first this season, to make it 3-0 Astros. Ruiz’s final line was 1.1 IP 2 H 1 ER 1 BB 1 K on 22 pitches.
Great White ? coming through. #TakeItBack pic.twitter.com/7OSoMlVwUB
— Houston Astros (@astros) May 21, 2019
Josh Osich also threw 22 pitches, but he was much more effective completing two innings of work without allowing a baserunner. Juan Minaya was next in line, and he threw two more scoreless innings thanks to an essential defensive play by Yoan Moncada. After Brantley hit a double to left field, with two outs, Minaya faced Yuli Gurriel who hit a rocket of a grounder down the third base line. Moncada with the quick hands was able to steal the extra base hit away.
In total, the White Sox used five relievers in this game which combined over eight innings only allowed three runs (two earned) on eight hits while striking out four and walking just two batters. This result was better than expected for the White Sox.
Offensively, the Sox had a couple of opportunities but couldn’t find the decisive hit to push runners across home plate. Astros starter Brad Peacock struck nine over five innings while only allowing two hits. Charlie Tilson was the only batter to have multiple hits as the Sox 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.
Game Notes:
- White Sox have lost eight straight games against Houston.
- Aaron Bummer, Evan Marshall, Kelvin Herrera, and Alex Colome did not pitch, and are assumed to be available tomorrow to help Dylan Covey.
Record: 21-25 | Box Score | Highlights
Author
I think it’s time to call up Thyago Viera to take Jose Ruiz’s innings. I was hoping Hamilton, Thompson and Frare would be forcing a potential call up from AAA but that hasn’t been the case.
Send both Ruiz and Minaya down, since they will likely not be available tomorrow. Bring Vieira and Hamilton up. Hamilton has been good in his last 4 games- 5.2 IP, 2 ER, 8 Ks.
@Josh Nelson also completed in a brisk 2h40m.