Before his injury, he was hitting.423 with two doubles, two home runs, six RBIs and four runs scored in his six previous games.
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The Astros meanwhile have put aside their slow start and have really made a move in the AL West, and while they still have a lot of work to do if they’re going to chase down the Texas Rangers they are certainly on the right track to get back in the playoff hunt. Fister gave up five earned runs on nine hits and 4 2/3 inning Michael Feliz struck out seven over three inning. They seem unlikely to make any additional maneuver to their lineup as the Trade Deadline nears, especially if Reed continues to slug like he did this afternoon.
Altuve gave Houston a 1-0 lead with his home run to the seats in right field with two outs in the first. He wasn’t very sharp.
Chicago took the lead with Navarro’s one-out triple.
The Sox (41-40) arrived at the halfway point of their season with a sloppy performance on the bases and a less-than-fine effort in the field but made up for it with 13 hits including J.B. Shuck’s third homer in seven games, designated hitter Dioner Navarro’s two-run triple and two-run single.
The White Sox attempted play add-on the third inning but Adam Eaton was thrown out by Jake Marisnick attempting to score to end the inning. Eaton leaped over the head of catcher Evan Gattis on the play, but Gattis was still able to apply the tag.
After a short coaching visit to the mound, Carlos Correa pushed the lead to 4-2 on a run-scoring single. But after grabbing the lead, the Astros went silent until the eighth, with Sale retiring 13 of 14 batters before George Springer opened the eighth with a single to left. This is going an excellent ball game and while getting Sale as a dog isn’t something you should pass up I think the Astros are just the better team and are playing as such here and Fister should be able to keep up. He is 2-1 with a 2.78 ERA in six career starts against Houston.
The Sox may not have missed injured left fielder Melky Cabrera against the weak Twins the last two days, but they certainly could have used a better bat Friday night against the Astros.
Astros: RHP Lance McCullers will start for Houston on Monday after missing his last start with a blister on his right index finger. Jose Altuve is 6-for-18 versus Sale, who owns a 6-1 record and 1.99 ERA in eight road starts.Fister may not have the numbers to rival Sale’s, but he was riding a 10-start unbeaten streak until surrendering three homers and four runs in a 6-1 loss at Kansas City last time out.
The Astros will be trying to rebound after the White Sox ended Houston’s four-game winning streak with a 7-6 victory on Saturday in the middle game of the series.
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Astros: Collin McHugh (5-5, 4.58) is scheduled to pitch for Houston on Sunday. He has suffered one loss and four no-decisions in his past five starts.
