HOUSTON — Chicago White Sox right fielder Dominic Fletcher turned to his right, spun around and had time to gather himself as he neared the wall in the first inning Sunday.
He jumped and robbed Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz of a three-run home run.
“Defense is always kind of the thing that’s kept me going,” Fletcher said. “I take a lot of pride in it.”
Diaz made sure no one would get to his long fly in the sixth, smashing a solo home run to left against Ky Bush.
Jose Altuve added a solo home run in the eighth as the Astros beat the Sox 2-0 in front of 37,169 at Minute Maid Park.
Bush pitched well in the loss, allowing one run on four hits with five strikeouts and three walks in six innings. But the Sox were limited to three hits — singles by Nicky Lopez, Lenyn Sosa and Andrew Benintendi — while losing two of three in the series.
They’ve lost 31 of their last 35, falling to 30-95.
DOMINIC FLETCHER
pic.twitter.com/SoAfKeBePd
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) August 18, 2024
Astros starter Framber Valdez allowed the three hits while striking out nine and walking one in seven scoreless innings.
“His stuff was electric today,” Fletcher said. “He was hitting his spots. Didn’t miss much, didn’t leave much over the middle.”
It was the 14th time the Sox have been shut out this season.
The Sox committed one error, but overall it was a much more crisp performance after Saturday’s shaky 6-1 loss. Bush and two relievers limited the Astros to five hits.
“I can live with that one, guys played hard,” interim manager Grady Sizemore said of the effort. “It was a great game all around. A lot of good plays defensively. Great job by Bush.
“Had some good swings, too. Just not in the right spot. A couple of solo homers beat us.”
Here are three takeaways from the series after three days in Houston.
1. Ky Bush delivered a sharp outing in Sunday’s loss.
Bush estimated he thanked Fletcher “about 20 times” after the first-inning catch.
“That was an unreal play,” Bush said. “It definitely changed the whole outing.”
The catch was the first out of the inning. Altuve tagged up on the play and advanced to third, giving the Astros runners on the corners. Bush then induced an inning-ending double play to get out of a jam without allowing a run.
Bush settled in for his sharpest start since joining the Sox from Triple-A Charlotte.
“He was doing a great job of pounding the strike zone, battling,” Sizemore said. “That was the best I’ve seen him so far. I was really happy with that outing.”
Bush walked five in his major-league debut Aug. 5 against the Oakland Athletics and seven on Aug. 12 against the New York Yankees. He earned his first quality start in the majors Sunday, setting personal bests in innings, strikeouts, fewest walks and fewest runs allowed.
“I felt like I commanded all four pitches,” Bush said. “Able to command it, and did a pretty good job with it.
“Just build on each outing. Learn from this one as well and move on to the next one.”
2. Garrett Crochet made the most of his pitch limit on Friday.
Garrett Crochet allowed a single to begin the bottom of the second on Friday night.
He struck out the next three batters.
The left-hander went through the same sequence in the fourth.
Crochet was locked in, allowing one run on four hits with nine strikeouts and no walks in four innings. He threw 55 pitches as the Sox continued to monitor his workload during his first season as a major-league starter.
“I feel really good,” Crochet said after the game, which the Sox won 5-4. “Pitch count was 60 tonight. Felt I could have thrown more, but I completely understand the workload cautions that are going on.”
Four innings has been his max since July 6. He’s made seven starts in that span, four of which were four innings.
Crochet said the plan is to “just keep logging starts. At the end of the year, see where the inning count is.”
Crochet has made 25 starts this season and has 124 2/3 innings pitched.
“In ’21 I was on the IL for my back at one point, in ’20 the flexor strain, so to have a year I can get through the entire thing healthy would be just huge for my confidence, especially in this new role,” Crochet said. “And just further reaffirm the idea we had in spring training that this was better overall for my health, and it’s kind of been trending that way all year.”
3. The Sox made more history while being mathematically eliminated Saturday.
What had been a forgone conclusion became official Saturday night when the Sox were mathematically eliminated from all playoff contention.
According to MLB Network Gameday notes, it’s the earliest calendar date a team has been eliminated from the playoff race in the divisional era, which began in 1969.
After Friday’s win, Crochet brought up the notion that the Sox have the mindset of being spoilers for playoff contenders during the stretch run.
Sizemore echoed those sentiments before Sunday’s game.
“There’s always something to play for,” Sizemore said. “There are a lot of playoff teams coming up, there are going to be a lot of good matchups and we can do a lot of harm and spoil the party.”
The Sox head to San Francisco for a three-game series beginning Monday. The Giants were four games back of the final National League wild-card spot as of Sunday afternoon.
