Astros 4, White Sox 1: The same old, same old

Good starting pitching and no offense — a tale as old as time

The White Sox missed another opportunity to secure a series victory by losing tonight to the Houston Astros, 4-1. Their last series win was more than a month ago, when they took three out of four games from Cleveland.

You know, it was a slow night when Chicago’s social media was posting about butterflies on helmets.

Pitching was king this evening, as both teams’ starters gave their clubs a chance to get the win. Garrett Crochet typically utilizes a four-pitch mix, but his offspeed stuff wasn’t playing today, and he tossed his four-seamer and cutter for 94% of his pitches. As a result, it wasn’t the southpaw’s best outing, but it wasn’t his worst, either. I suppose you can’t always be brilliant, but still finding a way to compete when you don’t have your best stuff is a quality I’ll take in a starter any day. Seems like a guy you might build a winning team around rather than trade away, huh?

The lefty kept his pitch count low, struck out eight, and surrendered three runs on nine hits with only one walk. He earned a quality start and kept the Good Guys in the game, but unfortunately, the anemic White Sox offense hung their ace out to dry.

Hunter Brown continued his June dominance, giving up only one run on seven hits, six of which were singles. He saw his 16 1⁄3 scoreless-inning streak snapped in the bottom of the fourth when Andrew Benintendi cranked a solo jack. And that was all she wrote for the Pale Hose offense.

The Sox tried to get something going in the bottom of the fifth after singles by Korey Lee and Tommy Pham. With runners on first and third and one out, Gavin Sheets killed the rally and grounded into a double play. Then, in the sixth, Luis Robert Jr. led off with a single and stole second, but his teammates wasted the effort and left him stranded.

Justin Anderson came on in relief of Crochet in the seventh and, despite giving up a single to Houston villain José Altuve and a double to Yainer Díaz, he got out of the inning unscathed. Sadly, the same could not be said for Steven Wilson, who allowed a run in the top of the eighth, giving the Astros a 4-1 cushion they wouldn’t ultimately need.

Houston’s closer, Josh Hader, came on in the ninth, earned his 10th save, and set the Pale Hose down without much of a fight. With one out, Paul DeJong singled on a line drive to center, but he stayed right there. The Astros win, and the Sox lose again. The squad drops to 20-55, 27 games back of the first-place Cleveland Guardians. This was the 21st time in 75 games the White Sox were held to no more than one run.

Futility Watch

White Sox 2024 Record 20-55, worst 75-game start in White Sox history (4 1⁄2 games ahead of the next-worst, 1948 White Sox) and a season-worst 35 games worse than .500
White Sox 2024 Run Differential -156, tied for the 29th-worst 75-game start in history and a season-worst mark
White Sox 2024 Season Record Pace 43-119 (.267)
Race to the Worst “Modern” 162-Game Record (2003 Tigers, 43-119) TIED
Race to the Worst “Modern” Record in a 162-Game Season (1962 Mets, 40-120) 2 games behind
Race to the Most White Sox Losses (1970, 106) 13 games ahead
Race to the Worst White Sox Record (1932, 52-109-1*) 9 1⁄2 games ahead
Race to the Worst American League Record (1916 A’s, 38-124*) 5 games behind
*record adjusted to a 162-game season