Houston has a rough night

Astros struggle all around in loss to White Sox

Chris Campise
Jul 17, 2021, 9:10 pm
Houston struggled on both sides of the ball on Saturday in Chicago. Photo by Elsa/Getty Images.

After getting a lopsided win in the opener on Friday night, the Astros tried to capitalize on the chance to lock up the series with the formidable White Sox on Saturday night in the series middle game. Instead, Chicago would take their turn to dominate, handing Houston the loss to even things at a game apiece.

Final Score: White Sox 10, Astros 1

Astros' Record: 56-37, first in the AL West

Winning Pitcher: Lucas Giolito (8-6)

Losing Pitcher: Jake Odorizzi (3-5)

Odorizzi gets roughed up and exits early

After allowing just a walk in the first two innings, Jake Odorizzi would watch his start go downhill from there. Chicago tagged him with back-to-back solo homers with one out on the bottom of the third, jumping ahead 2-0 before Odorizzi would finish the inning. He returned to try and rebound in the fourth and give his team some more innings but instead would continue to struggle, allowing two more runs on an RBI double and single, extending the White Sox's lead to 4-0. He would get just one out into the inning before being removed in favor of Brandon Bielak. His final line: 3.1 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 1 K, 2 HR, 73 P.

Houston's bullpen doesn't fare any better

After Bielak finished the fourth for Odorizzi, he gave up two runs of his own on a one-out two-run homer to make it 6-0 in the bottom of the fifth. He went on to complete that frame, then in the bottom of the next inning, the Astros turned to Joe Smith to try and at least keep things within a long arm's reach. The White Sox kept scoring, though, getting a leadoff double, then a single, then a three-run blast to extend the lead further to 9-0 and blow things open.

Austin Pruitt, who was acquired by the Astros in the 2019-20 offseason but suffered an injury to keep him sidelined last year, made his long-awaited debut for Houston out of the bullpen in the bottom of the seventh. He too would feel the wrath of Chicago's offense, giving up a solo homer to make it 10-0 but retiring the other three batters he faced.

White Sox even the series

Meanwhile, Houston's offense had nothing for Lucas Giolito who was carving up the Astros lineup. After a one-out double in the second at-bat of the game by Michael Brantley, Giolito retired the next 22 in a row getting to two outs in the top of the eighth. Abraham Toro would finally get Houston on the board, hitting a solo homer to make it a nine-run game at 10-1. Pruitt returned for a scoreless bottom of the eighth, keeping it 10-1 which would be the final score as Giolito would finish the complete game in the top of the ninth, handing the Astros the lopsided loss.

Up Next: The finale and rubber game of this three-game series will get underway at 1:10 PM Central on Sunday. Framber Valdez (5-1, 2.98 ERA) will make his first start of the second half for Houston, while Carlos Rodon (7-3, 2.31) will go for Chicago.

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TEXANS CAMP REPORT

11 observations from Texans training camp Day 5

We'll see if Watson is in pads on Tuesday. Photo courtesy of the Houston Texans.

The Houston Texans had their last practice before pads come on for the first time on Tuesday. There was plenty to see on Monday.

1. Deshaun Watson had his usual extremely light level of work. He did very little throwing to teammates, though he did throw to the tight ends in 1-on-1 drills.

2. Texans head coach David Culley said "nothing has changed" when asked if Deshaun Watson will be in pads Tuesday. Culley has maintained that answer for a couple of sessions now.

3. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor was back after missing Saturday with an excused personal day. Taylor has been the best quarterback in camp by a wide margin. Taylor makes better decisions with the football than other quarterbacks, but he does struggle on deeper passes. Taylor missed wildly on one deep ball and was a little wobbly on another.

4. Nobody in camp can cover wide receiver Brandin Cooks. This could be the easiest training camp of his life. He easily gets open in 1-on-1 situations.

5. Rookie wide receiver Nico Collins continues to flash his abilities in camp. Collins easily shook loose from defensive back John Reid and took the route vertical for an easy score. Collins later had a tough catch in traffic.

6. It's only been a few days, but the competition for inside wide receiver reps is tough. Former Bears wideout Anthony Miller has looked quick and nothing like the "draft bust" the Bears fans watched. Keke Coutee has rarely lost a rep, but Desmond King did win a few times over Coutee in the opening days of camp. Former Bengals wideout Alex Erickson finds himself constantly open. The cuts at wide receiver are already shaking out to be difficult.

7. Davis Mills bounced back in a sense that he couldn't be worse than he was on Saturday. The performance from Mills on Saturday was abysmal, but head coach David Culley said he liked how Mills responded today. With Tyrod Taylor back, there were fewer reps for Mills, but he had some impressive throws to go along with an off-target throw or two. Mills was far better than Jeff Driskel on Monday. Driskel tossed two interceptions right to defenders, including one that would've gone the wrong way for a score.

8. This linebacker group is interesting. With a new defensive scheme under Lovie Smith, the type of linebacker is very different from previous years. There was a clear emphasis on cover ability as these linebackers were added to the team.

9. Kamu Grugier-Hill and Kevin Pierre-Louis have both had some significant wins for the linebackers in coverage.

10. Rookie tight end Brevin Jordan looks the part physically, but he's had a rough few days, including a drop on Monday.

11. With the pads coming on Tuesday, it will be fun to watch the rebuilt defensive line clash with the many combinations of the offensive line. There will be no J.J. Watt who historically stirred up the team on day one of pads. Laremy Tunsil's cool confidence about the offensive line over the weekend leads me to believe they are a confident group, while there are spots to be won on the defensive side of the line.

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