This one was close for five innings, then it wasn't. The Chicago White Sox turned a tied game into a rout, scoring nine runs over the final three innings to bury the Houston Astros 12-3 at Rate Field.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOU | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 |
| CWS | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | X | 12 | 12 | 0 |
Munetaka Murakami was the difference. He went 3-for-5 with two home runs, three runs scored and six RBI, a night that carried the White Sox offense from start to finish. His first homer came in the first inning, a two-run shot that plated Antonacci and put Chicago ahead. He added a run-scoring groundout in the third, then closed the game out with a solo homer to right center in the eighth.
The score stayed tight into the sixth, tied at 3-3 after Taylor Trammell's solo homer for Houston in the fifth. Chicago answered when Miguel Vargas homered to left in the sixth, Antonacci scoring ahead of him, and the lead never went back to Houston. The seventh inning turned it into a laugher: Chase Meidroth homered to left center, Murakami singled home Romo and Perez, and Andrew Benintendi singled in Murakami to make it 3-9. An eighth-inning barrage followed, with Junior Perez homering to left to score Meidroth and Murakami adding his second homer of the night moments later.
Houston starter Ronel Blanco took the loss, his first of the season, allowing 5 runs on 4 hits with 3 walks over 5.1 innings. Jeremy Pena homered twice for the Astros, and Trammell added his own solo shot, but Houston's bullpen could not slow Chicago down, surrendering 7 runs over 2.2 innings. Erick Fedde started for the White Sox and lasted 4.1 innings, allowing 3 runs on 5 hits, before the CWS bullpen took over and did not allow a run over 4.2 innings, with Sean Newcomb picking up his first win of the season.
The White Sox improved to 55-49, extending their winning streak to 1 with the win. The Astros fell to 52-55.