CHICAGO (AP) — JP France pitched a three-hit ball into the seventh inning in his second start in the majors, José Abreu received a warm welcome on his return to Chicago, and the Houston Astros won Friday, the 5th -1 to the White Sox.
The teams had to wait more than two hours, because the rain prevented the match from starting on time. The White Sox paid a video tribute to Abreu before the game.
The Cuban responded by pumping a fist in the air and thanking the crowd before jogging towards the clubhouse.
Kyle Tucker was walked and scored in the fourth inning. He also had Houston’s first hit, ending the start of Michael Kopech (1-4) with an RBI double that made it 2-1 in the fifth.
The Astros scored two more runs in the sixth, with back-to-back RBI doubles by Martin Maldonado and Mauricio Dubón of Honduras against Gregory Santos. Cuban Yordan Álvarez homered for the second consecutive duel, at the beginning of the ninth inning.
France (1-0) looked terrific again, a week after going five scoreless innings against Seattle in his major league debut. This time, the 8-year-old right-hander pitched six and two-thirds innings, allowing just one run and one walk.
For the Astros, the Honduran Dubón 4- with an RBI. The Cubans Álvarez 4-1 with one scored and one produced, Abreu 5-1. The Dominican Jeremy Peña 3-0 with an RBI. Puerto Rican Maldonado 3-1 with two runs scored and one pushed.
For the White Sox, Cubans Yoán Moncada 4-0, Luis Robert Jr. 3-2 with one scored and one produced. The Mexican Seby Zavala 3-1. The Venezuelan Elvis Andrus of 3-0. The Dominican Hanser Alberto 1-0.
