WHITE SOX HEADLINES OF SEPTEMBER 20, 2017 “Quiet bats waste Giolito's solid effort” … Brian McTaggart & Richard Dean, MLB.com “Giolito holds his own against Astros” … Scott Merkin & Richard Dean, MLB.com “Shields knows not to take Astros lightly” … Scott Merkin & Richard Dean, MLB.com “Lucas Giolito puts together another strong outing in White Sox loss to Astros” … Dan Hayes, CSN Chicago “White Sox draft guru Nick Hostetler willing to sacrifice position for player development” … Dan Hayes, CSN Chicago “White Sox catchers Kevan Smith, Omar Narvaez growing with young pitchers” … Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune “Lucas Giolito takes loss, but also takes positive stride in development” … Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune “‘Composed’ Giolito solid again in White Sox’ loss to Astros” … Daryl Van Schouwen, Chicago Sun-Times “Slowly but surely, Yoan Moncada adjusts to big-league pitching” … Daryl Van Schouwen, Chicago Sun-Times “Varying impacts: How traded White Sox players are faring with new teams” … Scott Gregor, Daily Herald “By the numbers: Sox lose, but the kids looked good and that’s what matters” … James Fegan, The Athletic Quiet bats waste Giolito's solid effort By Brian McTaggart and Richard Dean / MLB.com | September 19, 2017 HOUSTON -- Collin McHugh won his third consecutive decision and combined with four relievers to handcuff the White Sox and send the American League West-champion Astros to their fifth win a row, 3-1, in Tuesday night's series opener at Minute Maid Park. The Astros (92-58), who clinched their first AL West title on Sunday, began play on Tuesday 1 1/2 games behind the Indians -- who defeated the Angels late on Tuesday -- for the best record in the AL. The Astros have won eight in a row at home and are 34 games over .500, tying their high-water mark of the season. "The division part is out of the way and now we can worry about winning games and keeping our eye on the big prize," said closer Ken Giles, who worked a scoreless ninth inning for his 32nd save. McHugh (3-2), pitching for the first time since leaving his Sept. 8 start at Oakland after only three innings because of a fingernail injury, held the White Sox to one run and five hits in five innings to improve to 14-0 in September/October regular-season games since 2014. Will Harris, Luke Gregerson and Chris Devenski each threw a hitless inning in relief before Giles closed it out. "Our bullpen stepped up," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. "I thought McHugh threw the ball really well. I thought his pitch-making ability was really good. I thought he made one mistake, to [Jose Abreu] for the double, but other than that he was in a pretty good rhythm, pretty good execution." Abreu doubled home Yoan Moncada to give the White Sox a 1-0 lead in the third, but Jose Altuve hit a solo homer in the fourth off Lucas Giolito and Alex Bregman added an RBI double later in the inning to put Houston ahead, 2-1. Giolito (2-3) allowed two runs and seven hits in 6 2/3 innings. "[Giolito] kept us in the ballgame, certainly. He gave us as many outs as he could," White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. "This is an excellent ballclub, and they put the barrel on the ball. He did a very nice job containing these guys as long as he did." MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Altuve matches milestone: Altuve tied his career high (set last season) by going opposite field for his 24th homer of the season in the fourth. The homer was his 194th hit for the season, putting him six shy of reaching his fourth consecutive 200-hit season. Prior to Altuve, Hall of Famer Craig Biggio (1998) was the only Astros player to reach 200 hits in a season. Escape artist: McHugh recorded two quick outs to start the fifth inning before giving up an infield single to Moncada and watching Abreu reach on an error by third baseman Bregman. But McHugh got Nicky Delmonico to pop out to end the inning, leaving the dangerous Avisail Garcia on deck. "We made some pitches when we needed to," said McHugh, who made his 100th start with the Astros. "Had a better curveball today, better breaking ball than I've had in a while. Made a handful of mistakes, but for the most part, I thought we executed pitches really well." SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS Yuli Gurriel's double in the seventh inning was his 56th extra-base hit of the season, tying the rookie franchise record held by Hunter Pence (2007). DOUBLED OFF Gurriel was doubled off first base after singling in the third on an infield popup. With Gurriel at first, Brian McCann skied one to shortstop Tim Anderson, who was playing on the right side of the infield in a shift. Anderson caught the ball just beyond the infield dirt and popped a throw to first to get Gurriel, who had strayed off the base and couldn't get back in time. REPLAY REVIEW The Astros successfully challenged a call in the eighth inning, leading to a run. George Springer, playing on his 28th birthday, was initially called out at the plate when he tried to score from third on Altuve's grounder to third, but the replay showed that Springer's left hand got a piece of the plate as he slid by the tag of catcher Kevan Smith. "I told him I was proud of his hustle, and don't ever do that again until October," Hinch joked. "I don't need to see that again. ... Excellent play in itself. I'd like him not to do that." Said Springer: "He told me to be smarter. I get it. But these games still count, and it's hard to not play hard. I'll just be smarter. I'll try not to do it again. Can't make any promises." WHAT'S NEXT White Sox: Right-hander James Shields (4-6, 5.43 ERA) makes his 20th start of the season on Wednesday, and he has won consecutive starts after snapping an 11-start winless streak. Shields is 2-1 with a 1.70 ERA in five career starts vs. the Astros. First pitch is at 7:10 p.m. CT. Astros: Right-hander Brad Peacock (11-2, 2.98 ERA) also will be making his 20th start of the season, and he has held opponents to exactly three hits in three of his last four starts. With 11 wins, he has matched his win total from his previous five Major League seasons combined. Giolito holds his own against Astros By Scott Merkin and Richard Dean / MLB.com | September 19, 2017 HOUSTON -- There was a moment during Chicago's 3-1 loss to the Astros on Tuesday at Minute Maid Park that showed off the pitcher Lucas Giolito is becoming as opposed to just highlighting the highly touted rookie. It came in the sixth inning, with Marwin Gonzalez at the plate, Carlos Correa at second and two outs in a 2-1 ballgame. Gonzalez, who is a .293 hitter with an .884 OPS, battled the young right-hander through 12 pitches. Giolito threw pretty much everything he had to the man with 82 RBIs before getting him swinging on a changeup on pitch No. 12. That pitch stood as one of Giolito's six swings-and-misses induced, with three off the change, among his 100 pitches. "Changeup was a good pitch for me, aside from the few I left up," Giolito said after slipping to 2-3 overall. "I had a lot of confidence in it, and that was probably the offspeed pitch that I was most comfortable going to in big situations. I felt pretty good about how I pitched, for sure." Tuesday's effort marked Giolito's fourth start out of six in which he has allowed two earned runs or fewer. He yielded two over 6 2/3 innings while striking out three and walking one. And he went up against the Astros' front-line lineup -- which entered Tuesday with a Major League-best .282 team average and .824 OPS -- and held the bats in check. "This is an excellent ballclub," said White Sox manager Rick Renteria after Giolito recorded nine of his 14 called strikes off his four-seam fastball, per Statcast™. "They have good hitters across the board. They are patient, they're aggressive when they need to be. They put the barrel on the ball. He did a very nice job containing these guys as long as he did." "His changeup is very good," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. "Obviously, he can spin a couple of different breaking balls, and it looks like a heavy fastball. Really, an impressive young starter to be able to navigate the lineup in different ways and get guys out in different ways and really compete. Good first impression. First time I'd seen him in the big leagues." After finding a self-described "mental click" while pitching for Triple-A Charlotte, as well as repeatable mechanics on his delivery, Giolito has carried that consistency to the big leagues. "Over the course of this season, I started to take pride in maintaining composure on the mound at all times, especially in big situations," Giolito said. "It feels more normal getting into that rhythm of being in the big leagues, pitching every five days. I'm getting my routine down." "He's throwing his breaking ball more effectively. Right now his changeup as well," Renteria said.