Five innings looked like enough. Then the sixth happened. The Chicago White Sox built a 5-0 lead behind a three-run first and a two-run fifth, only to watch the Houston Astros answer with eight runs in a single inning and walk away with a 9-5 win at Rate Field.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOU | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 13 | 0 |
| CWS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 1 |
Cam Smith was named the game's MVP after going 1-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs and a walk. His two-run shot to left field, traveling 383 feet, was the swing that turned the game. Jose Altuve added three hits in five at-bats with an RBI, and Jeremy Pena also collected three hits in six trips. Christian Walker drove in three runs on a single hit, and Yordan Alvarez scored twice.
The White Sox led 5-0 after Chase Meidroth's fifth-inning double scored Braden Montgomery, but the sixth inning unraveled everything. LaMonte Wade Jr. singled home Alvarez to cut it to 5-1, then Christian Walker doubled to left, scoring Paredes, Wade Jr. and Altuve to make it 5-4. Smith followed with his two-run homer, scoring Walker and putting Houston ahead 6-5 — the go-ahead play that decided the game. Altuve then reached on an infield single to score Pena, and Wade Jr. drew a walk that brought home Alvarez again, pushing the score to 8-5. Houston added an insurance run in the ninth when Christian Vazquez's ground-rule double scored Trammell, capping the 9-5 final.
Chicago starter Davis Martin allowed 4 runs on 6 hits over 5.0 innings with 3 strikeouts and no walks, leaving with a lead his bullpen couldn't hold. Reliever Bryan Hudson took the loss after recording just two outs while allowing 4 runs on 3 hits, as the White Sox bullpen combined for 5 runs over 4.0 innings. Houston starter Spencer Arrighetti lasted only 1.0 inning, giving up 3 runs, but the Astros bullpen covered 8.0 innings and allowed just 2 runs to hold the lead. Kai-Wei Teng earned the win despite allowing 2 runs over 2.0 innings, improving to 5-6 on the season.
The result snapped a two-game skid for Houston, which moved to 51-54 and has now won four straight. Chicago fell to 54-48, absorbing its first loss after a win, while sitting atop its division standings entering the next series.