ASTROS LOSE, 4-2
Missed opportunities haunt Astros in series opener
Jun 10, 2025, 11:22 pm
The White Sox beat the Astros, 4-2. Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images.
Luis Robert Jr. homered, Shane Smith pitched six effective innings and the Chicago White Sox beat the Houston Astros 4-2 on Tuesday night.
Edgar Quero had two RBIs as last-place Chicago won for the fourth time in five games.
Robert hit a run-scoring double in the second and his sixth homer in the fourth, a solo drive to left-center off Lance McCullers Jr. (1-2). He also made a sliding catch on Jake Meyers' liner to center in the eighth, stranding runners on the corners.
Smith (3-3) allowed one run and seven hits in his second straight win.
Grant Taylor, one of Chicago's top prospects, worked a 1-2-3 seventh in his major league debut. He hit 101.5 mph on his first pitch, a ball to Victor Caratini.
Brandon Eisert handled the ninth for his second save.
Isaac Paredes and Yainer Diaz each hit a sacrifice fly for Houston in the opener of a six-game homestand. McCullers permitted four runs and four hits in five innings.
Chicago scored two runs in the third to open a 3-0 lead. With two out and the bases loaded, Quero hit a two-run single to left.
Key moment
Meyers and Caratini hit back-to-back singles in the fourth, but Shane Smith got Cam Smith to ground into an inning-ending double play.
Key stat
Smith has won back-to-back starts for the first time in his career. The 25-year-old right-hander went into the game leading all MLB rookies with a 2.45 ERA.
Up next
Sean Burke (3-6, 4.03 ERA) is expected to pitch Wednesday for the White Sox against Ryan Gusto (3-3, 4.78 ERA) in the second of a three-game series.
Houston Astros shake things up trying to halt the spiral
Jul 29, 2025, 4:13 pm
Houston ace Framber Valdez expressed frustration about the defensive positioning on a play in the sixth inning Monday night that led to the only run he allowed in the Astros’ 2-1 loss to the Washington Nationals.
There were two outs in the sixth when Valdez walked Josh Bell. Nathaniel Lowe’s groundball double to the right field corner scored Bell and tied the game at 1.
Valdez wasn’t happy that right fielder Taylor Trammell was shifted halfway to center field instead of in right field on the play.
“I saw the right fielder playing center field and, you know, we have a center fielder for that,” Valdez told reporters in Spanish through a translator. “I feel like the right fielder should have been playing right field. I was uncomfortable with that.”
Valdez was asked if he addressed the positioning with the coaching staff.
“I don’t have to ask the coaches about that,” he said. “I feel like baseball is a game of common sense. With me as a lefty pitcher, they don’t hit a lot of fly balls against me.”
Valdez allowed three hits and a run while tying a season high with 12 strikeouts in six innings to become the 10th pitcher in franchise history to reach 1,000 career strikeouts (1,007).
You can see where the right fielder was positioned in the video below.
hi lowe pic.twitter.com/6hKlolMnTU
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) July 29, 2025
Riley Adams hit a solo homer in the seventh inning to give Washington the win and extend Houston’s skid to a season-high five games.