HOUSTON — Luis Robert Jr. visited the train tracks well beyond the left-field wall at Minute Maid Park in the third inning of Friday’s game against the Houston Astros.
The Chicago White Sox center fielder didn’t hit the ball quite as far in his next at-bat but had a similar result.
Robert matched a career high with four hits — including two home runs — and drove in four, fueling the Sox to a 5-4 win against the Astros for their 30th victory of the season.
It was Robert’s seventh career multihomer game — and first since March 30 against the Detroit Tigers. It was also his first multihit game since July 29 against the Kansas City Royals.
Robert had three hits in that contest against the Royals. He topped that Friday, going 4-for-5 to raise his average from .200 to .212.
“I still need to keep working and try to get more comfortable,” Robert said through an interpreter. “But yeah, good results today.”
It was Robert’s fifth four-hit game, and he was one RBI shy of tying his career high in a game.
“(He) really picked us up,” interim manager Grady Sizemore said.
Robert lined an 0-1 fastball from Astros starter Spencer Arrighetti off the wall in the first but was thrown out trying to stretch the single into a double.
He made sure there wasn’t going to be a throw in the third, launching a 94.3-mph fastball 415 feet for a two-run homer for a 3-0 Sox lead.
Robert’s fly to left field in the fifth landed a couple of rows over the wall for a solo home run. The 329-foot blast, on a 1-1 sweeper, put the Sox ahead 4-1.
“It was not a matter of if but when,” starter Garrett Crochet said of Robert’s night. “We’ve all been rallying behind him.”
While Robert provided the power at the plate, Crochet was overpowering on the mound.
The left-hander allowed one run on four hits with nine strikeouts and no walks in four innings. He threw 55 pitches as the Sox keep monitoring his workload.
“He was very effective,” Sizemore said. “Did a great job getting ahead of guys, making great pitches. Hate to have to pull him like I did, we have to protect him, but he did a great job throwing strikes and being aggressive.”
It was an impressive bounce-back outing for Crochet, who allowed seven runs on nine hits in 2 1/3 innings on Aug. 9 against the Cubs at Guaranteed Rate Field.
“I think first-pitch strikes played a part. I think I was 13 for 16 (Friday),” Crochet said. “(And) versus the Cubs, I might have been just at 50% if not under. I feel like the execution as a whole was better.”
Touki Toussaint took over in the fifth. He walked and hit the first two batters he faced but rebounded by striking out Jose Altuve and getting Yordan Alvarez to bounce into an inning-ending double play.
Astros center fielder Jake Meyers hit a two-run homer in the sixth to cut the lead to 4-3. Robert put the momentum back in the Sox favor with a two-out RBI single in the eighth.
“I knew that extra run would be very key for us and give more room for our closer,” Robert said. “I knew the importance of that at-bat.”
Matt Foster, who returned from the injured list Friday after missing last season following Tommy John surgery, struck out one batter during a perfect eighth inning. Chad Kuhl surrendered a two-out solo home run to Jon Singleton but struck out Altuve for his second career save.
The Astros (65-56) saw their eight-game winning streak come to an end while the Sox (30-93) began a six-game trip on a good note.
“This was a pretty big game for us,” Crochet said. “With not really any playoff aspirations, I think one of our MO is, ‘Well, let’s screw it up for everybody else.’ We knew the Astros were on a heater, so this one definitely feels good.”
