HOUSTON (AP) — Johnny Cueto and Reynaldo López combined for a three-hitter and Luis Robert tied a career-high with four RBIs as the Chicago White Sox jumped on Justin Verlander early and cruised to a 7-0 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday.
Cueto (1-3) allowed two hits and struck out five in a season-high seven innings to get his first win since July 29 with San Francisco.
“Johnny set the tempo,” manager Tony La Russa said. “He’s an artist out there … that’s just high, high major league pitching.”
Robert tied a season best with three hits and José Abreu drove in two runs as the White Sox built a 7-0 lead after four innings to get their fourth win in five games.
Cueto allowed a leadoff single to Jose Altuve and walked a batter in the fourth and sixth innings.
But Houston didn’t get another hit until Alex Bregman singled with no outs in the seventh. He was erased when Yordan Alvarez grounded into a double play before Cueto retired Kyle Tucker to end his day.
Houston manager Dusty Baker, who managed Cueto in Cincinnati, raved about the right-hander.
“When he’s on with his stuff, he’s as tough as anybody,” Baker said. “He knows how to pitch.”
López yielded one hit in two scoreless innings to complete the shutout.
Verlander (8-3) entered the day tied for the MLB lead with eight wins, but had a rare sub-par start in what has been a splendid season in his return after missing almost two years after Tommy John surgery.
He allowed nine hits and seven runs — four earned — in a season-low 3 2/3 innings to snap a two-game winning streak.
“Those hitters at this level are really good, too,” Verlander said. “So I think this might just be a situation where you give credit where credit is due.”
Houston’s tough day at the plate…
Leave a Reply