White Sox Fall to Astros Late Despite Promising Davis Martin Return

The Chicago White Sox came up short against the Houston Astros after a bad baserunning decision.

Sep 2, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Chicago White Sox pitcher Davis Martin (65) reacts after a pitch against the Houston Astros during the second inning at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The story of the White Sox's third game against the Houston Astros should have been the return of Davis Martin after he spent time on the injured list.

To Martin's credit, he did fire 5 2/3 shutout innings in a sign that he might have a respectable September even if he doesn't dominate like he did during the first two months of the season. But this game, which was scoreless through seven innings, was defined by an eighth inning that was as gut-wrenching as the Sox have had all season. It proved to be the decider in a 2-0 Astros win.

A Tristan Peters leadoff triple was followed by a Drew Romo walk, so it looked like the Sox were about to break through. But Peters made a questionable break for home on a Sam Antonacci ground ball to short, and he was easily thrown out at the plate. Will Venable would praise Peters afterwards for keeping the Sox out of the double play, but even the most forgiving Sox fans might find that to be a stretch.

Although Munetaka Murakami loaded the bases on a single, many wondered why Romo hadn't been pinch-run for in order to better the Sox's chances of pushing across a run. Still, being held at third was somewhat understandable given that the team's best hitter in Miguel Vargas was coming up. Alas, Vargas hit into a double play to kill the rally.

Sean Newcomb retired his first five batters but suddenly lost control with one out in the eighth, allowing a single and a walk before hitting Jose Altuve to load the bases. He ultimately served up a back-breaking two-run single to Nelson Velazquez and was immediately removed.

It's hard to blame the pitching for this one. Everyone on the mound did his job for the most part and put the Sox in position to win. They had to be perfect on this night because the offense gave them nothing to work with, going 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position and leaving six runners on base. Some questionable decisions on the base paths also didn't do them any favors.

The loss means the Astros have the tiebreaker in case the teams end up deadlocked for the No. 2 seed on the AL side the playoff bracket. Fortunately, the Sox are up on them by 2.5 games, so they don't need to be too concerned just yet. But that can change quickly if they have more games like this one.