ASTROS’ WINNING STREAK ENDS AT FOUR AS THEY LOSE TO CHRIS SALE AND THE WHITE SOX.
Staff stalwart loses strike zone, exits in 5th inning
For the better part of 10 consecutive starts across May and June, Doug Fister quickly asserted himself as the Astros’ top starting pitcher in 2016.
That wasn’t the case Saturday, as the 6-8 righthander walked nearly as many batters (five) as he did in all of June (six).
Despite his struggles, all was not lost — the Astros managed four runs off Chicago White Sox ace Chris Sale, the same dominant lefty who struck out nine Astros in a complete-game win in May.
The Astros scored one run in the first inning and three in the third to lead by one entering the fifth. But with two outs, the bases loaded and Michael Feliz warming up in the bullpen, Fister couldn’t hold the lead. Dioner Navarro singled past a diving Marwin Gonzalez at first base to score two runs, and Sale settled in as the White Sox won 7-6 at Minute Maid Park to end the Astros’ four-game winning streak.
“One of those days where I was fighting myself mechanically and just not able to quite execute as well as I’d like,” said Fister, who exited after Navarro’s hit and watched Feliz retire nine straight.
When asked afterward about bringing in Feliz earlier, Astros manager A.J. Hinch said he wouldn’t have had the hard-throwing righthander warming up if he didn’t want to bring him in.
“It’s always tough after the fact,” Hinch said.
If Gonzalez makes the diving stop or if Navarro’s hit is inches to the right, Fister (8-5) escapes and the American League’s best bullpen since May 1 takes over. Instead, the single kept the Astros chasing despite taking a lead twice on Sale, who is one win away from the most by an AL pitcher before the All-Star break since David Wells won 15 in 2000.
“I’ll think about that one tonight,” Hinch said.
The Astros (43-38) were in position to win by attacking. In the first inning, Jose Altuve hit a 1-1 Sale fastball for his 14th home run. The AL Player of the Month for June is just one homer shy of his career high, accomplishing the feat in half as many at-bats.
After the White Sox answered with two runs in the second on a Navarro triple, the Astros got three more off Sale. Offensive burst
With Danny Worth (walk) and Jake Marisnick (bunt single) at the corners, Gonzalez dropped down another bunt, tying the game on the squeeze play.
Altuve and Carlos Correa pushed it to 4-2 with consecutive RBI singles.
“We did a lot right that inning,” Hinch said. “We go into the game knowing you’re probably going to play the infield in a lot, you’re probably going to try to bunt a time or two, you’re going to need to manufacture one run at a time (and) maybe deliver a big blow if you can. But it was important for us to do that.”
It didn’t hold. J.B. Shuck cut the lead to one with a two-out solo homer in the fourth. Then in the fifth, five of the first six Chicago hitters reached. Navarro’s hit followed to give the White Sox the lead.
Fister gave up five runs in 42⁄ innings, allowing nine hits and five walks.
“Putting guys on for free is not going to put us in a good chance to win, and I didn’t do that today,” Fister said of his shortest outing since his first in 2016.
It’s a far cry from the 10-start stretch in which he walked more than three batters just once. Sipp finds trouble
Feliz struck out seven in three innings. He gave way to Tony Sipp after a twoout infield single to Avisail Garcia in the eighth, and the lefty allowed consecutive run-scoring, extrabase hits.
By then, Sale (14-2) was cruising. From the fourth through seventh innings, he allowed only a Gonzalez single and struck out seven. He finished with nine, walking one and allowing four earned runs.
The Astros cut the deficit to one with runs in each of their last two innings. The second was on A.J. Reed’s first career big league homer, off closer David Robertson.
“You go back to earlier parts of the game where you wish you could have done one or two things more … but the tack-on runs are a sign of confidence,” Hinch said.