White Sox shutout Astros to split the series
Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 2 hits from the 4-0 loss
May 23, 2019, 9:51 pm
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
After a disappointing loss the night before, the Astros were back in action for game four of this series with the White Sox on Thursday night looking to take the series 3-1 with a win. Here's how the game panned out:
Final Score: White Sox 4, Astros 0
Record: 33-18, first in the AL West.
Winning pitcher: Lucas Giolito (6-1, 2.77 ERA).
Losing pitcher: Corbin Martin (1-1, 4.97 ERA).
1) Martin with another rough start
Since his great debut on Mother's Day, Corbin Martin has not been able to repeat that success against the two teams he has faced since. After going four innings against the Red Sox last week where he allowed three runs and four walks, he struggled again on Thursday night in his start against the White Sox.
It centered around the third inning, where he allowed three runs on a couple of hits and a self-inflicted error which gave Chicago a 3-0 lead. Then, in the fourth he allowed a solo home run to make it 4-0. A.J. Hinch would go ahead and make the call to the bullpen after Martin allowed a one-out single, ending his night early in a disappointing outing.
The bullpen, however, would have a strong outing with Framber Valdez taking over for Martin in the fourth and finishing that and two other scoreless innings. Josh James rebounded from his rough outing the night before with two scoreless innings including five strikeouts, then Chris Devenski came in for a scoreless ninth.
2) Giolito dominates
Houston's offense could not crack Lucas Giolito, getting just four hits and one walk against him as Giolito would go on to throw a complete game shutout, the best start of his season. The win for Chicago made it a 2-2 series split, and the shutout also ended Houston's streak of consecutive games with a home run.
Up Next: The Astros will move on to the next series in this ten-game homestand with the first of a three-game series with the Red Sox on Friday night at 7:10 PM. It will be a rematch of Sunday afternoon's game with Wade Miley (4-2, 3.51 ERA) looking to help Houston reverse the outcome against Chris Sale (1-5, 4.31 ERA) as Boston took that game 4-3.
The Astros daily report is presented by APG&E.
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The Astros and the Yankees in the Bronx this weekend. Fun! And important. Both teams have been in results ruts for a while. The Astros have gone 9-16 over their last 25 games while the Yankees’ funk is longer extending, producing a 19-29 mess over their last 48 games. Despite the Seattle Mariners closing in, the Astros still lead the American League West. The Yankees’ hopes of again winning the AL East are fading toward the point of no return. They have tumbled six and a half games behind the Toronto Blue Jays and also lag three games behind the rampaging Boston Red Sox. Hence, the Yankees are under clearly more pressure than are the Astros this weekend. The pitching matchups in the first two games strongly favor the Astros. Friday night it’s Hunter Brown opposite rookie Cam Schlittler who makes his fifth big league appearance. Saturday afternoon it’s Framber Valdez versus Luis Gil, who was the 2024 American League Rookie of the Year, but missed the first four months of this season with a lat injury. Gil made his 2025 debut Sunday, and was terrible. The Astros’ quality rotation depth beyond Brown and Valdez is non-existent at this point. Their Sunday starter will be a lesser starter than the Yankees’ Max Fried. Of course, in one game you never know.
The Astros have thoroughly owned the Yankees in their most meaningful meetings over the last decade. In 2015 the ousted the Yankees in a one-game Wild Card matchup. Then came the real soul-crushers with the Astros vanquishing the Yanks in the 2017, 2019, and 2022 American League Championship Series, with it getting easier for the Astros as time went on. The 2017 series went the maximum seven games, 2019 took six, 2022 was a four-game Astros’ sweep. The regular season has been a different matter. The Yankees have beaten the Astros in 11 of 14 games over the last two years. Last season the Yankees walloped the Astros six wins to one. They only play six times this regular season: the three in New York this weekend then three at Daikin Park in early September.
Here comes the Judge
While the Astros (and their fans) endure a seemingly never-ending wait for Yordan Alvarez’s return to the lineup, the Yankees have Aaron Judge back after a 10-day stint on the injured list. Judge carries the burden of soft career postseason stats (though he has 16 home runs in just 58 postseason games and his career playoffs OPS is just 21 points lower than Alex Bregman’s), but this is a legendary player. Judge’s career OPS stands at a whopping 1.024. That number will drop during the decline years remaining in his career, but here’s the list of all time Major Leaguers higher than 1.024: Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Lou Gehrig, Barry Bonds, and Jimmie Foxx. Those are arguably the four greatest offensive players in MLB history, plus Foxx who probably rates in the top 20. If he holds up the rest of the season, Judge is a cinch for his third AL Most Valuable Player Award in four years.
Turn back the clock
Should they choose to check it out, the Astros can watch the Yankees’ Old-Timers' Game Saturday. Though most of the greatest of Yankee legends have died, there will still be a fabulous cast of alumni who soak up cheers during introductions, with many of them then taking part in a two or three inning game. The Yankees are by far the most storied franchise in MLB. The Astros have plenty of history and beloved players over multiple generations to copy the concept, and have their own Old-Timers' Day at Daikin Park. Would it not be a blast to see Roger Clemens pitch to Craig Biggio? Roy Oswalt to Lance Berkman? As I said during our Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast this week, I wouldn’t bet against 78 (as of Friday)-year-old Jose Cruz squaring up a ball for a line drive. Make Astros’ Old Timers’ Day happen in 2026 Jim Crane!
Angry birds
The best team in the American League is Toronto, best for now anyway. The Blue Jays have been the best over the last two months-plus. The Jays woke up May 29 at 27-28. Since then they are 41-20. Over that time frame the Astros have the third-best record in the AL behind the Jays and Red Sox. A notable part of Toronto’s success the past month is Joey Loperfido. He didn’t make the Jays’ big league squad coming out of spring training, and wasn’t called up until July 6. Over 72 at bats since getting back to “The Show” Loperfido is batting .389 with a .978 OPS. Reminder that Loperfido hit .372 over his first 43 at bats with the Astros. Full credit to Joey for a magnificent month. Still, there is no reason for the Astros to be wracked with regret for having included Loperfido in last season’s trade for Yusei Kikuchi.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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