Look at it this way: At least the White Sox wasted no time reminding everybody about the best ways to upgrade the roster when the trade deadline arrives in two weeks.
The bullpen? Codi Heuer walked the No. 9 hitter to load the bases after inheriting two on from Dylan Cease with two outs in the sixth. He got Jose Altuve to ground out, but Aaron Bummer made a mess of the seventh with erratic control in his first game off the IL, and Jose Ruíz allowed a bases-clearing double to push the game out of reach.
Second base? Leury García failed to cover second on what could've been an inning-ending force play in the third, instead opening the door for the two runs in the third inning that gave the Astros a forever lead. He then cut in front of Anderson on a Martin Maldonado roller for another non-error error. On top of that, he went 0-for-3 with a strikeout.
Help against righties? The White Sox tagged Lance McCullers Jr. for a Tim Anderson triple on the first pitch and a Yoán Moncada double on the second, then didn't collect a third hit until Anderson again in the ninth inning. McCullers struck out 10 White Sox and induced nine groundouts while throwing just 94 pitches over seven innings. His slider was nasty and he has a 2.80 ERA for a reason, but there are going to be plenty of strong right-handed pitchers come October.
That's how the White Sox fell to 0-5 against the Astros this year, while Dylan Cease dropped to 1-5 against teams .500 or better. He was the least of the White Sox's problems, striking out 10 batters himself over 5⅔ innings. He just had that frustrating defense-induced stumble in the third, then gave up a resonating homer to Michael Brantley in the fifth. He was otherwise fine, with plenty of brilliant moments, which is enough for the team's fourth- or fifth-best starter.
Reynaldo López also did his job, which was to pitch the final two innings of a lopsided game without incident. He allowed just a single while recording a strikeout.
Bullet points:
*34,516 fans came out to boo the Astros, who have outscored the Sox 34-9 this season.
*Brian Goodwin struck out all four times up, which makes him as good as Yordan Alvarez.
