Jose Altuve, Astros chase series triumph vs. White Sox

After making just five starts at second base over the Astros’ first 37 games, veteran Jose Altuve manned second for the fifth time in his past nine starts on Wednesday as Houston pounded out a 10-2 win over the visiting Chicago White Sox.

The teams will play the deciding contest of the three-game series on Thursday.

Altuve moved to left field to start the season but has seen more time of late at his natural position in deference to Jacob Melton. The rookie outfielder made his major league debut on June 1 and logged his sixth start in left on Wednesday.

“I want to take a good look here at Melton, but Jose Altuve is going to go back to left field,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “He’s going to play some left field. But I want to get the lefty (Melton) batting there and try to get Melton some starts in left field.

“It’s something that I’ve been wanting to get him to the big leagues for that reason. That’s kind of my thought process.”

Espada will hand the ball to Framber Valdez (6-4, 3.07 ERA) in the series finale.

The left-hander won his past four starts and is unbeaten over his past six, going 5-0 with a 1.84 ERA and six consecutive quality starts.

Valdez twirled seven strong innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 5, allowing two runs on four hits and three walks with a season-high 11 strikeouts in an 8-2 road victory. It marked his major-league-leading seventh start of at least seven innings, and Valdez is tied for third in the majors with 10 quality starts this season.

Valdez is 4-3 with a 2.94 ERA over nine career appearances (eight starts) against the White Sox. He allowed four runs on seven hits and two walks with six strikeouts over five innings in a 7-3 loss at Chicago on May 2.

Right-hander Davis Martin (2-6, 3.62) is scheduled to start the series finale for the White Sox. He did not factor into the decision of a 7-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Friday after allowing two runs on five hits with seven strikeouts and no walks over six innings.

Martin is winless over his past four starts and has just one victory in his past 10 appearances (nine starts), going 1-5 with a 3.43 ERA in that span.

Martin has faced the Astros once previously, allowing three runs on eight hits with five strikeouts and no walks over five innings on May 3. He did not factor into the decision of Chicago’s 8-3 home loss.

On Wednesday, White Sox rookie catcher Kyle Teel made his fifth major league start and his second of the series. He arrived in the majors on June 6. Fellow rookie catcher Edgar Quero, who debuted on April 17 and has started 27 games behind the plate, served as the designated hitter in the series opener before pinch-hitting on Wednesday.

Quero, a switch hitter, is batting .260 with no homers and 14 RBIs in 52 games. Teel, who bats left-handed, is hitting .250 with no RBIs in five games.

“It’s not going to be driven just by matchups,” White Sox manager Will Venable said of the platoon. “This series is going to end up like that, but they’re both very capable offensively. We want a little more out of Edgar, to be honest, defensively. There are some things receiving-wise he’s continuing to work on, and the same thing with Kyle.

“We’re going to find ways to mix in starts and work and all of that to make sure that we continue to give us the best chance to win and also develop them.”

–Field Level Media