ASTROS DEFEAT WHITE SOX
Hunter Brown deals, Astros even series against White Sox
Jun 19, 2024, 9:50 pm
Astros defeat White Sox, 4-1. Composite Getty Image.
Hunter Brown tossed six innings of one-run ball for his third straight win, backup catcher César Salazar had a pair of RBI singles and the Houston Astros topped the Chicago White Sox 4-1 on Wednesday night.
Jake Meyers lined a pair of doubles to end an 0-for-17 slump and scored two runs to help Houston end a two-game slide. Mauricio Dubón drove in a run with a groundout and single to extend his hitting streak to 12 games. Chas McCormick added a sac fly.
Andrew Benintendi hit a solo homer in the fourth for Chicago, ending Brown’s streak of scoreless innings at 16, a season high for an Astros pitcher.
Brown (4-5) scattered seven hits, struck out six and walked none in his sixth straight quality start. The 25-year-old right-hander, in his second season in Houston's rotation, lowered his ERA to 4.72 after a rough start.
Three relievers followed with three innings of one-hit ball. Josh Hader worked around a single in the ninth for his 10th save.
Salazar went 2 for 2 in his second game this season and first multihit game of his career. He entered in the third inning after starting catcher Victor Caratini left with discomfort in his left leg after he was thrown out at the plate.
Recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land on June 11, Salazar started the night with just three hits in 20 career at-bats in 14 contests.
White Sox starter Garrett Crochet (6-6) labored at times through six innings, allowing three runs and nine hits. The lefty struck out eight and walked one.
The Astros took a 1-0 lead in the third after loading the bases with one out. McCormick scored from third on Dubón’s groundout when Chicago got a force at second, but couldn’t complete a double-play.
Houston made it 2-0 in the fourth on Salazar’s single.
Benintendi’s homer down the line to right in the bottom half cut it to 2-1.
After Meyers doubled in the sixth, Salazar followed with a grounder up the middle to make it 3-1.
César Salazar came to work today. pic.twitter.com/FfnIM5XDwQ
— Houston Astros (@astros) June 20, 2024
Meyers scored again on McCormick’s sacrifice fly in the eighth.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Astros: OF Kyle Tucker (right shin contusion) still has not started on-field baseball activities, manager Joe Espada said. “The recovery is slow, and we all hoped it would have been faster,” Espada said. The slugger had 19 homers when he was hurt on June 3 when he fouled a pitch off his shin against the Cardinals.
White Sox: Manager Pedro Grifol said RHP Mike Clevinger (right elbow inflammation) will need at least one more rehab start with Triple-A Charlotte. The 33-year-old right-hander allowed two runs and four hits in three innings on Tuesday. Clevinger went on the 15-day IL on May 28.
UP NEXT
Houston will send Spencer Arrighetti (3-6, 6.37) to the mound against Chicago’s Chris Flexen (2-6, 5.35) in the series finale Thursday afternoon.
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The Houston Astros have looked like one of baseball’s most dangerous teams in recent weeks, riding a hot streak fueled by dominant starting pitching and a red-hot offense that’s erupted for double-digit runs in four of their last eight games. But behind the current success, there are fair questions about whether this pace is truly sustainable as the grind of the season continues.
Yes, the Astros are winning — and winning big — but context matters. Many of their recent victories have come against struggling clubs like the White Sox and Athletics. Even matchups against the Twins and Guardians, while respectable, don’t exactly represent championship-caliber tests. That soft stretch of the schedule has certainly helped Houston pad its win column, but it may not be the best predictor of long-term performance. Houston will be tested in the upcoming series against the Phillies and Cubs.
On the pitching side, the numbers have been impressive, but how repeatable is it? With Lance McCullers Jr. sidelined for at least a couple of weeks, the Astros are relying on a patchwork rotation that includes unproven arms like Colton Gordon, Ryan Gusto, and Brandon Walter. While each has shown flashes, asking them to shoulder the load deep into the summer may be a tall order.
Offensively, Houston is firing on all cylinders. But scoring 10 or more runs every other game simply isn’t sustainable over a 162-game season. Regression is inevitable; the question is how the team responds when the bats cool down or the bullpen is asked to carry more weight.
Amid all this, rookie third baseman Cam Smith continues to shine. Just a few months into his major league career, Smith is producing at a level that suggests he’s not just a key piece of the future — he’s already one of the team’s most valuable players. His batting average sits just a point behind Jose Altuve’s, and his OPS is even higher. If the Astros were forced to choose two players to build around long-term, factoring in youth and contract status, the logical duo might be Smith and breakout pitcher Hunter Brown.
So what about the big picture? Is this team a true World Series contender?
Oddsmakers currently have Houston with the seventh-best odds to win it all, and only the Yankees and Tigers rank higher among American League teams. The core is still there, the experience is undeniable, and if the pitching continues to hold — especially with the anticipated return of Spencer Arrighetti and a healthy McCullers — the Astros have every reason to believe they’ll be in the mix deep into October.
But that’s a big “if.” The ceiling is still high, and with Cam Smith emerging as a star in real time, this team might just have another gear. Whether they can reach it when the competition stiffens, that remains to be seen.
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