The Houston Astros’ five-game winning streak came to an end Sunday as the Chicago White Sox blasted five home runs, including two from Munetaka Murakami, to beat Houston 12-3 in the finale of their series at Rate Field.
Jeremy Peña homered twice and Taylor Trammell added a third solo shot for Houston, but all three of Chicago starter Erick Fedde’s home runs allowed came on solo swings, leaving the Astros without the big multi-run inning they’d need to keep pace. Peña’s first homer was a leadoff shot in the first inning, and he added another in the third. Trammell went deep in the fifth to tie the game at 3-3.
Chicago pulled ahead for good in the sixth when Miguel Vargas hit a two-run homer off Ronel Blanco, who allowed five runs on four hits over 5⅓ innings in his second start back from Tommy John surgery. Both of Blanco’s home runs allowed came with a runner already on base. Murakami’s first homer, in the bottom of the first, scored right behind Sam Antonacci, who had drawn a leadoff walk that inning.
The game got away from Houston in the seventh, when nine Chicago batters came to the plate and the White Sox scored four runs against Enyel De Los Santos and Bryan King, who had been recalled from Triple-A a day earlier. Chase Meidroth opened the inning with a solo homer, and Murakami capped it with a two-run single. Miguel Ullola, also freshly recalled, allowed a two-run homer to Junior Perez and a solo shot to Murakami in the eighth, Murakami’s second of the game and the sixth run he drove in on the day.
Houston avoided using Josh Hader and Bennett Sousa in the lopsided loss, leaving its late-inning bullpen fresh for Monday’s series opener against the Angels.
The loss dropped Houston to 52-55 on the season. Yordan Alvarez remains atop the major-league home run leaderboard with 34, though he did not homer Sunday.
The Astros open a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels on Monday at Angel Stadium, when Tatsuya Imai faces José Ureña. First pitch is at 8:38 p.m. Central.
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