Astros at White Sox (Game 1)
On the verge of winning their ninth game in a row with a dramatic ninth-inning comeback, the Houston Astros instead were victimized by a walk-off home run to temporary slow their momentum. Following a rainout of Monday's series opener, the Astros will turn to recent acquisition Zack Greinke when they continue their 10-game road trip with the first game of a doubleheader against the host Chicago White Sox on Tuesday.
Despite the stunning 8-7 loss at Baltimore on Sunday, Houston has been an offensive juggernaut this month, scoring 87 runs during its 8-1 stretch. Carlos Correa has homered five times and collected 13 RBIs over his last 10 games after going deep on back-to-back days while rookie Yordan Alvarez has registered five blasts and 15 RBIs during his nine-game hitting streak. The acquisition of Greinke adds to an already imposing rotation that will face a Chicago lineup that managed just three runs and was shut out twice in losing two of three to Oakland over the weekend. Tim Anderson has hit safely in all 10 games this month but has notched only three singles in 14 at-bats against Houston this season.
TV: 4:40 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet-Southwest (Houston), NBCS Chicago
PITCHING MATCHUP: Astros RH Zack Greinke (11-4, 3.08 ERA) vs. White Sox RH Dylan Cease (2-4, 6.00)
Greinke needed his offense to bail him out in his much-anticipated debut with Houston after allowing a tying three-run homer in the sixth inning, but he got the victory despite yielding five runs in six innings against Colorado last Tuesday. He had permitted fewer than three runs in four of his final five starts with Arizona prior to the trade and went 6-3 with a 2.85 ERA in 13 road outings for the Diamondbacks. Greinke registered 12 strikeouts in his last start versus the White Sox in May 2017.
Although he surrendered a home run for the sixth time in as many major-league starts, Cease recorded the victory last Tuesday by giving up two runs and seven hits over five innings at Detroit. It snapped a four-start losing streak for the 23-year-old rookie, who had yielded 19 runs in 23 frames during that span and at least four in every outing. Cease is 1-2 with a 6.35 ERA in three home starts and allows opponents to hit .333 with runners aboard.
WALK-OFFS
1. Correa has collected 14 RBIs in 19 career games against the White Sox.
2. Chicago CF Leury Garcia has hit safely in seven straight contests.
3. Alvarez has recorded multiple hits in six of his last nine games.