Astros at White Sox
On the verge of winning their ninth 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. The Astros will turn to recent acquisition Zack Greinke when they continue their 10-game road trip in the opener of a three-game set at the Chicago White Sox on Monday night.
Despite the stunning 8-7 loss at Baltimore on Sunday, Houston has been an offensive juggernaut this month, scoring 87 runs during the 8-1 stretch. Carlos Correa has homered five times and collected 13 RBIs over the past 10 games after going deep on back-to-back days while rookie Yordan Alvarez has five homers and 15 RBIs during a nine-game hitting streak. The trade for 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. Shortstop Tim Anderson has hit safely in all 10 games this month but owns only three singles in 14 at-bats against Houston this season.
TV: 8:10 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 Houston debut after allowing a tying three-run home run in the sixth inning, but he got the victory despite yielding five runs in six innings against Colorado on Tuesday. He had permitted two runs or fewer in four of his last five starts with Arizona prior to the trade and was 6-3 with a 2.85 ERA in 13 road outings for the Diamondbacks. Greinke struck out 12 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 earned the victory last time out by giving up two runs and seven hits over five innings at Detroit on Tuesday. It snapped a four-start losing streak for the 23-year-old rookie, who had yielded 19 runs in 23 innings during that span, including 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 14 RBIs in 19 games against the White Sox.
2. White Sox CF Leury Garcia has hit safely in seven straight games
3. Alvarez has multiple hits in six of his last nine games.