Bryan Abreu\u2019s path back to key situations<\/a><\/p>\nCristian Javier warmed as the sixth began. The Astros\u2019 big inning altered their bullpen calculus. Bennett Sousa worked a scoreless eighth with a new three-run lead. Bryan Abreu drew the bottom of Chicago\u2019s order in a clean seventh, allowing left-hander Steven Okert to face its heavily left-handed top including slugger Munetaka Murakami.
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Sam Antonacci lined a leadoff double in the eighth. Smith made a sliding catch of Murakami\u2019s sinking liner to rob him of a hit and help Okert escape the inning unscathed. Closer Josh Hader was warming before Christian V\u00e1zquez struck a two-out RBI double to give Houston a four-run lead. Hader entered anyway, in a non-save situation, and notched the final three outs.
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Arrighetti\u2019s early exit\u2014 and injury outlook \u2014 could reverberate for days. Houston\u2019s bullpen covered seven innings in the first game of its six-game road trip. Eight games remain before the Aug. 3 trade deadline, during which a front office that plans to buy must decide where to prioritize upgrading the roster. More impact from the lower half of its lineup, like it received Friday, could help clarify the approach.<\/p>\n
Sixth-inning outburst<\/p>\n
White Sox starter Davis Martin worked his first five innings scoreless. The Astros put just two runners in scoring position in them. Yordan Alvarez flied out to end the second with men on first and third. Jeremy Pe\u00f1a struck out with two on to end the fifth.
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\u201cI think we were putting good at-bats out there and it felt like it was just a matter of time,\u201d Walker said. \u201cBut just strung together some really good at-bats, kept the momentum going.\u201d
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Martin returned to the mound to start the sixth. Alvarez scorched a changeup for a leadoff single. Martin ran a sinker into Isaac Paredes\u2019 right hand. Jose Altuve pulled another for a single that loaded the bases. LaMonte Wade grounded a single through the right side to drive in Houston\u2019s first run.
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It also ended Martin\u2019s night. Left-hander Bryan Hudson brought reverse splits into a matchup with the right-handed-hitting Walker. Walker pulled a sweeper on the ground just inside the third-base line and into the left-field corner, driving in all three runners.
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\u201cI was just trying to be on the fastball,\u201d Walker said. \u201cWith the angles and the ride to the fastball, I didn\u2019t want to overcomplicate it, so I wanted to be on time with the heater and just react and luckily that slider stayed on the plate.\u201d
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With one swing, Walker surpassed his RBI total from his first 15 games in July (two). A top-heavy lineup thirsts for the impact he can provide. Only Alvarez has driven in more runs this season among Houston hitters. Hudson struck out Lucas Spence, the inning\u2019s first out on its sixth batter.
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Smith, who had struck out and bounced into a fielder\u2019s choice in two at-bats against Martin, turned on a 2-2 fastball from Hudson and drove it 383 feet into the left-field seats. He started the at-bat 6-for-48 this month with two extra-base hits. This one flipped a one-run deficit for Houston into a one-run lead.
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\u201cWhen those guys get on base, now Jeremy comes up with people on base, Yordan gets people on base, and it gets longer and it\u2019s more trouble for the opposing pitching,\u201d Espada said.
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The rally continued. Pe\u00f1a beat a two-out infield single. After a Hudson balk, the White Sox intentionally walked Alvarez. Seranthony Dom\u00ednguez entered, the third pitcher of the inning, and walked Paredes to reload the bases. An infield hit by Altuve added a run. Dom\u00ednguez walked Wade to force in another.
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A strikeout of Walker, the 14th batter the Astros sent up in the sixth, ended the inning. Alvarez, Paredes, Altuve and Wade all reached base twice in the eight-run frame.<\/p>\n
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Arrighetti exits in second<\/p>\n
Arrighetti threw 33 pitches in a shaky first inning in which he walked two batters, hit two others, allowed two hits and gave up three runs. He returned to the mound to begin warming up for the second, threw a warmup pitch and took several steps off the mound. Espada and a trainer emerged to check Arrighetti, who was removed without throwing another pitch.
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The Astros said Arrighetti exited with \u201cright foot nerve irritation.\u201d Arrighetti said the issue was located between his third and fourth toes on his foot, which he uses to push off the mound. Arrighetti said he had not felt the issue before Friday and thought he might have irritated the nerve during his warmup, but he thought he could pitch through it.
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\u201cBut I got out there for the first and it bothered me on just about every pitch I threw,\u201d Arrighetti said. \u201cIt\u2019s my foot that I push off the mound with too, so it felt like things weren\u2019t coming out right. And I thought I was going to be able to just push through it, but I went back out for the second inning to test it out and it was really bothering me.\u201d
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Arrighetti said he was unsure what his next steps would be. Hayden Wesneski, who made likely his final rehab start Friday with Triple-A Sugar Land, could be a logical plug-in should Arrighetti be sidelined.
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Called up in mid-April after starting the season at Triple-A, Arrighetti posted a 1.34 ERA in his first eight starts for the Astros this season and was named the American League pitcher of the month for May.
In his ensuing eight starts, Arrighetti posted a 7.88 ERA, with the Astros losing six of those games. He entered Friday with a 7-5 record and a 4.34 ERA through 87 major-league innings this season.<\/p>\n
Thaiss signs minor-league deal<\/p>\n
The Astros signed catcher Matt Thaiss to a minor-league deal and assigned him to Triple-A Sugar Land, the affiliate announced Friday.<\/p>\n
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Thaiss, 31, has played in parts of seven major-league seasons with the Angels, White Sox and Rays. He spent the first part of this season with the Triple-A affiliate of the Red Sox, who released him last week.<\/p>\n
C\u00e9sar Salazar and Collin Price, the Astros\u2019 catching depth options at Triple-A, are on the minor-league injured list. Price was placed on the minor-league IL on June 16 and Salazar was added Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Thaiss, a left-handed hitter, likely represents experienced depth in case the Astros faced an immediate need to call up a catcher. He has a .210\/.320\/.332 slash line across 305 career major-league games.<\/p>\n
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