White Sox Have a Luis Castillo Problem After Series Loss to Astros

After a devastating shutout loss to the Houston Astros on Wednesday, the Chicago White Sox failed to split the four-game series, losing 6-2 on Thursday. Let's talk about the ugly finale.

Luis Castillo Fails to Get Job Done

White Sox starter Luis Castillo is starting to become a major problem. From the first inning, it was apparent that Castillo was going to have to work extremely hard to have a solid outing. He would strike out the first two batters, but walk Isaac Paredes and throw a letter-high fastball to José Altuve, who has crushed those pitches his entire career, creating an early 2-0 deficit. While the White Sox would tie it up in the top of the second, a four-run bottom of the third would seal the win for Houston.

Overall, Castillo gave up six hits, six runs, two walks and three strikeouts in just four innings, raising his ERA to 5.57 for the season and 7.52 with Chicago. While the bullpen held the game where it was, the offense couldn't come back from the early hole that Castillo dug.

Tyler Schweitzer had two shutout innings, and Trevor Richards threw a shutout inning as well. José Urquidy made a surprise appearance in the bottom of the eighth, shutting down Houston. This could mean that Drew Thorpe will take his spot in the rotation.

All things considered, this is proving to be a terrible trade for Chicago, especially with Boston Smith continuing to mash. You have to wonder how much more of a leash Castillo gets, even with his massive contract.

Offense Doesn't Get Job Done Either

Chicago's two hits with runners in scoring position in the second inning would prove to be the only ones of the game.

The White Sox were 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position on Thursday after going 1-for-7 in Wednesday's game. The White Sox would register seven hits in Thursday's loss, with two coming from Miguel Vargas.

Munetaka Murakami continued his struggles, going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. Murakami is slashing .136/.291/.318 in his last 30 games with 50 strikeouts in 110 at-bats and is becoming another major problem for this White Sox offense. Especially with the postseason inching closer, they need the slugger to return to form ASAP.

Next Up

On Friday, the White Sox will take on the Minnesota Twins at Rate Field. Erick Fedde will take on Zebby Matthews.

In his last start against Chicago, Matthews went 8.1 innings, giving up one run. In his last three outings, Matthews has given up just three runs in 21 innings. As for Fedde, he gave up two runs in five innings during his last start in Minnesota. He will look to continue his great run of late in a must-win series.

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