White Sox 4, Astros 0: Shutout Secures Series!

What a game on all ends by the Chicago White Sox!

The team beat the Houston Astros 4-0, while only allowing one hit. This win secured the series, while also extending their record to 56-36. The starting pitching, bullpen, and offense were all locked in today to make this an exciting game, and a great way to end the weekend.

Carlos Rodón was on the bump this afternoon, and he got right to work after a 1-2-3 first inning, fanning two. Framber Valdez was on the mound for the Astros, who only allowed on base runner in the bottom half of the inning after hitting José Abreu with a pitch. Abreu, who seems to get hit and banged up quite a bit, was OK this time and trotted to first base.

Rodón continued to deal in the second inning, including a strikeout to Carlos Correa. The South Siders got on the board early in the bottom of the inning after a one-out walk to Jake Burger, followed by a force out by Billy Hamilton to put him on first. After Seby Zavala was hit by a pitch, Danny Mendick hit a single through the left side to score Hamilton from second, rather easily.

Rodón allowed the only hit of the ballgame for the Astros in the top of the third inning, but proceeded to strike out three other batters to get out of the inning, so that cancels out pretty easy. In the top of the fourth, Rodón also struck out two more batters, putting his total at eight for the day. Reminder people, this was only after the fourth inning, that’s how good he is.

Yoán Moncada started off the bottom of the fourth inning in an exciting way, hitting a home run to left center field. This was Moncada’s first home run from the right side this year, so hopefully this can be the start of a great momentum burst from him.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Tim Anderson started a pasta party, extended his hit streak to 15 games, and hit a home run all in the same at-bat! Anderson has been lights-out as of lately, and if it continues, watch out league.

Both pitchers had 1-2-3 innings in the sixth, and Rodón finished strong in the top of the seventh with a ground out and two pop outs. With Valdez still on the mound in the bottom of the seventh, he allowed the dreaded leadoff walk to Mendick, followed by a ground out by Anderson that moved the runner over to second. Adam Engel continued to be efficient offensively, with a base hit up the middle to score Mendick, making it 4-0.

After a double by Abreu to put runners on second and third, Valdez was replaced by Ryne Stanek. Valdez went 6 ¹⁄₃ innings with seven hits, four runs, two walks, and just four strikeouts. Unfortunately after a wacky play on an Andrew Vaughn ground out with the infield in, Engel and Abreu were both tagged out to end the inning without any further damage.

Michael Kopech came in to relieve Rodón to start the top of the eighth inning, which ended his amazing start. Rodón went seven innings with just one hit, no runs, no walks, and 10 strikeouts. His ERA now sits at a 2.14, and he’d pick up the win got get to 8-3.

Kopech did what he does best, which is throw a 1-2-3 inning and record at least one strikeout. Billy Hamilton also had a defensive gem to start the inning, as he received “Billy, Billy” chants from the outfield fans for the rest of the inning following the catch.

Liam Hendriks came in to finish the game with a 1-2-3 inning and fanned José Altuve on a nasty slider to end the game. The crowd was completely pumped up, booing their lungs out for Altuve during his at-bat.

After losing the first game of the series, the White Sox showed extreme resilience and just what they are capable of, turning the series around to grab the last two wins. These games not only flashed offensive power, but featured amazing work by the pitching staff to shut down one of the best offensive teams in the game.

Tomorrow will be a busy day, as the South Siders will play a straight doubleheader against the Minnesota Twins. The first game will start at 4:10 p.m. CT, with the newly extended Lance Lynn on the mound. The second game will be a bullpen start, with Reynaldo López likely seeing a couple of innings and Kopech available for back-to-back duty.

Hope everyone enjoys the rest of this beautiful Sunday evening, and let’s get ready for two more wins tomorrow!