The Astros spent most of Wednesday night waiting for their offense to give Hayden Wesneski something—anything—to work with.
Nelson Velázquez finally delivered.
Velázquez lined a two-out, two-run single into center field in the eighth inning, breaking a scoreless tie and giving Houston a 2-0 victory over the Chicago White Sox at Daikin Park. The win improved the Astros to 71-69 and, coupled with Texas’ 9-2 loss to the Athletics earlier Wednesday, extended Houston’s AL West lead over the Rangers to two games.
Wesneski Gives Houston Seven Scoreless
Wesneski gave the Astros exactly the kind of start their rotation needed, holding Chicago to one hit over seven scoreless innings. He walked two, struck out five, and threw 90 pitches, 58 for strikes.
Chicago’s best early opportunity came in the third inning. Tristan Peters singled, stole second, and advanced to third as Sam Antonacci moved to second on Munetaka Murakami’s groundout. Wesneski stranded both runners when Miguel Vargas popped out to Jeremy Peña.
Wesneski retired 11 straight after Vargas’ third-inning popout before Braden Montgomery drew a one-out walk in the seventh. He then retired Colson Montgomery and Chase Meidroth to finish seven scoreless innings.
Blubaugh Escapes a Mess
AJ Blubaugh replaced Wesneski to begin the eighth and immediately found himself in trouble.
Peters led off with a triple, and Drew Romo walked to put runners at the corners with nobody out. Antonacci then hit a grounder to Peña, who threw home to Christian Vázquez to cut down Peters and preserve the scoreless tie.
Murakami followed with a single to load the bases with one out. Blubaugh escaped when Vargas grounded into a 5-4-3 double play, with Isaac Paredes starting it at third, Jose Altuve making the turn, and Christian Walker finishing it at first.
Blubaugh earned the win, improving to 5-2.
Velázquez Finally Breaks Through
Houston had opportunities of its own before the eighth.
Yordan Alvarez doubled to begin the fourth and advanced to third on Paredes’ single, but Altuve popped out, Daulton Varsho struck out, and Taylor Trammell flew out to strand both runners.
The Astros finally converted an opportunity in the eighth. Alvarez singled with one out and was replaced by pinch-runner Nick Allen. Paredes walked, and Altuve was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
Alvarez’s two-hit night also kept his Triple Crown pursuit moving. He is batting .317 with 37 home runs and 94 RBI through 138 games, with a 1.037 OPS. His 37 home runs are tied for third in MLB and keep him firmly in the race as September begins.
Varsho grounded back to Sean Newcomb, who threw home to force Allen for the second out. That brought up Velázquez, who lined a single into center to score Paredes and Altuve and give Houston the only two runs it would need.
Houston finished with seven hits and went 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position. Alvarez had two hits, including his 29th double of the season, while Velázquez finished 1-for-2 with both RBI.
Hader Finishes the Shutout
Josh Hader took over in the ninth and retired Chicago in order. Tommy Pham grounded out, Randal Grichuk struck out, and Colson Montgomery popped out to Paredes to end it.
Hader earned his 22nd save and lowered his ERA to 0.72. Houston pitching held the White Sox to three hits and three walks while striking out six.
Astros Extend Their AL West Lead
The Athletics beat the Rangers 9-2 earlier Wednesday, allowing Houston to capitalize on the opportunity Texas provided. The Astros improved to 71-69 and extended their AL West lead over the Rangers to two games.
Houston also secured at least a split of the four-game series against Chicago and can take three of four with a victory in Thursday afternoon’s finale.
The Astros and White Sox wrap up the series Thursday at Daikin Park, with first pitch scheduled for 1:10 p.m. CT. Hunter Brown (4-3, 3.33 ERA) is scheduled to start for Houston against Chicago right-hander Luis Castillo (4-10, 5.31 ERA).
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