Jonathan Cannon stood one out away from a complete game.
The Chicago White Sox starter made the pitch he wanted, getting Jon Singleton to check his swing on a cutter out of the zone. But the Houston Astros first baseman made contact for a dribbler that stayed fair down the third-base line for an infield single.
Mauricio Dubón followed with a single to center, and just like that, the Astros had the go-ahead run at the plate with two outs in the ninth.
Reliever John Brebbia replaced Cannon and wrapped up the shutout, getting Victor Caratini to ground out to first as the Sox beat the Astros 2-0 in front of 16,763 on Tuesday at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Cannon was fantastic, scattering seven hits with four strikeouts and one walk in 8 2/3 innings for the first win of his major-league career.
“It means a lot,” Cannon said. “It’s hopefully the first (win) of many. Felt really good to go out there and get this team a win. I look forward to many more.”
Cannon said the Singleton single was, “Just how baseball goes.”
“It’s funny like that sometimes, to pitch a game like that and the two little bleeders find some holes and they get on base,” Cannon said. “But you know what? My defense played a great game behind me all game, (catcher) Korey (Lee) called a great game back there. It was fun to be a part of.”
And he appreciated having the opportunity to go back out for the ninth.
“For (manager) Pedro (Grifol) to show that faith in me meant a lot to me,” Cannon said. “To be able to go out there and try to finish off the win, I think that was a huge confidence booster for me. That was definitely a big thing.”
Cannon became the first Sox rookie to throw at least 8 2/3 scoreless innings since Zach Stewart went the distance while tossing a shutout on Sept. 5, 2011, at Minnesota.
Grifol said Cannon was “spectacular.”
“He wanted the ball and I gave it to him,” Grifol said.
Tuesday was the latest example of the changes Cannon has made since returning to the big leagues.
The right-hander worked on his plan against left-handed hitters after being optioned to Triple A on April 28. Cannon has found success against lefties and righties since being recalled on June 7.
He had a 7.24 ERA in the first three starts of his major-league career before going back to Charlotte. He has a 0.48 ERA and 15 strikeouts in his three appearances (two starts) since returning.
“I think the biggest thing is the lefty attack and then I just feel like everything is a little bit sharper than it was last time,” Cannon said. “Just kind of looking at some of the videos from some of my earlier outings. I like my stuff a lot better where it is right now.
“So just try to stay consistent and go out there every five days and put us in a position to win.”
One of the challenging innings for Cannon on Tuesday came in the third, when he navigated through a one-out double with a strikeout and a popout.
The Astros placed runners on corners with two outs in the seventh, and Cannon got Jake Meyers to hit a grounder to third baseman Lenyn Sosa, who threw to second for an inning-ending force out.
The Sox did just enough offensively. Andrew Vaughn and Danny Mendick had the team’s only two hits.
Vaughn had two RBIs, both coming on fielder’s choices. Korey Lee scored on a fielder’s choice in the third and Corey Julks did likewise in the fifth.
Lee and Julks, both former Astros, drew walks on the way to scoring. The Sox had five walks Tuesday against Astros starter Framber Valdez, who allowed the two runs on the two hits with five strikeouts in six innings.
Cannon threw a career-high 106 pitches, helping the Sox (20-54) improve to 3-21 in series openers.
“Just have to stay consistent,” Cannon said. “I’m going to enjoy tonight, but tomorrow, just back in Day 1 and look forward to pitching again in a couple of games.”
