Starter Sean Burke bounces back for the Chicago White Sox in a 5-1 win against the Houston Astros
· Yahoo Sports
HOUSTON — Chicago White Sox starter Sean Burke walked the first two batters he faced on Tuesday against the Houston Astros.
He received a visit from pitching coach Zach Bove.
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“Just kind of came at me like, ‘Look, let’s not go down this road again,'” Burke said. “‘Let’s get back to what you’re doing good.’ I feel like I’m someone that you can kind of get at me a little bit when I’m on the mound. I’ll take kind to that and he knows that. Kind of one of those visits.”
Two flyouts and a strikeout followed as Burke got out of the first inning without allowing a run. The right-hander got into a rhythm the rest of the evening, allowing one hit over 5 2/3 scoreless innings in a 5-1 win in front of 26,838 at Daikin Park.
“Today’s honestly, in my mind, one of the better starts I’ve had this year just because I obviously didn’t have my best stuff and had to kind of grind through that,” Burke said. “Just the ability to stay in the game and continue to put up zeroes and give innings. Obviously you’d like to go out there and just mow down the lineup every single time.
“But a night like tonight, when I didn’t have my best stuff, I can still go out there and almost throw six innings. That to me, kind of means more for my growth and development of the past couple of years than the games where you’re feeling great and you just go out there and mow the lineup down.”
Burke struck out six and walked four in the 104-pitch outing. The only hit he allowed came in the fifth, a one-out double to center field by Taylor Trammell.
“I thought he was really impressive,” manager Will Venable said. “Obviously walked the first two batters. Wasn’t sharp there the first few innings, but got us through 5 2/3. I thought he did a great job of really settling down.”
Burke and relievers Bryan Hudson, Jordan Hicks and Grant Taylor combined to hold the Astros to three hits.
With the win, the first-place Sox (73-65) maintained their three-game lead over the second-place Cleveland Guardians in the American League Central. The Guardians (70-68) beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-1 on Tuesday.
The offense came through Tuesday for the Sox with some two-out production. Andrew Benintendi drove in Sam Antonacci with a two-out single in the fifth against reliever Kai-Wei Teng for the game’s first run. Colson Montgomery followed with a two-run double.
Randal Grichuk drove in two with a two-out double against reliever Tatsuya Imai in the seventh inning, stretching the lead to 5-0.
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“I never faced him before,” Grichuk said. “Saw a couple of heaters. Tried to let it get deep and luckily he put one that was out over (the plate) and I was able to put a good swing on it.”
It was a nice bounce back offensively for the Sox after the team went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and stranded 14 during Monday’s 6-3 loss.
“You go back and look at the last few games and kind of the underlying stuff with our swing decisions and hitting the ball hard, did a really nice job offensively with not a lot to show for it,” Venable said. “We had 10 walks (Monday) and didn’t really have that big hit. So today was the day that we continued to have good at-bats, get base runners and the two-out hitting was outstanding.”
Burke also rebounded from his last outing on Aug. 26 against the Texas Rangers, when he issued a career-high eight walks in three-plus innings. While there were still some walks on Tuesday, he didn’t let it snowball.
“Obviously I don’t think I’ve felt too in sync the past couple of weeks, but none of that stuff really matters when you’re out there,” Burke said. “It’s just about how you can get outs. I did everything I could to just get the ball over the plate and make good pitches and keep trying to put up zeroes, keep trying to get those guys out.
“I thought (catcher Drew) Romo did a really good job calling the game and understanding what was working for me in that game. Then the offense kind of picks me up in that fifth inning, giving me a nice lead to work with. I think just Romo calming me down and just feeling a little bit better, feeling more in sync and the offense obviously too, jumping up and giving me a breath of fresh air with a lead.”