Montero Spoils Urquidy's Gem in Houston Astros' Loss to Chicago White Sox

The Houston Astros scored two runs on the Chicago White Sox early, but Rafael Montero collapsed late.

The Houston Astros returned to Guaranteed Rate Field for the first time since clinching a ticket to the American League Championship Series last October, but unlike their last bout, the Astros left with a wasted opportunity.

José Urquidy found his groove again, tossing 7 2/3 innings against the Chicago White Sox—one out shy of his career-high. The righty allowed six singles and a hit batter to his four punch outs, but a two-out infield hit from A.J. Pollock ended his night at 94 pitches.

Rafael Montero entered for the last out in the eighth, but allowed a double to Andrew Vaughn, putting runners in scoring position. With an 0-2 count, Eloy Jiménez ripped a double down the line to tie the contest up at two. 

The White Sox took the lead on a two-run single from Yoán Moncada. Facing five total batters, Montero didn't retire a single one and yielded four runs to cross, one being charged to Urquidy. On back-to-back days, Montero's outing didn't end as planned. Phil Maton closed the inning without further damage. 

Houston Astros Third Baseman Alex Bregman

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The offense didn't show much after the first inning. Mauricio Dubón led off the contest with a single, and Yuli Gurriel followed with a ground ball to second baseman Josh Harrison who committed a fielding error, putting runners at the corners.

Yordan Álvarez drove home Dubón on a sacrifice fly, and through the jeers, Alex Bregman added another run with a double to score Gurriel from first base. The Astros struck only four more hits off Johnny Cueto following the first inning. Looking to rally in the ninth inning, Dubón popped out with runners at the corners and two outs. 

On the defensive end, Dubón performed well in lieu of Jeremy Peña—who is day-to-day with neck stiffness. The infielder hustled out a ground ball into left field to halt Harrison from extending his hit two bases. 

The Astros look to even the series at 7:10 p.m. on Tuesday. The Cy Young conversation hits the Southside as Justin Verlander and Dylan Cease toe the rubber. 

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