Navarro drives in four in White Sox's 7-6 win
HOUSTON – Dioner Navarro had a pair of two-run singles, the second turning the tide for the Chicago White Sox in their 7-6 victory over the Houston Astros on Saturday at Minute Maid Park.
Navarro finished 2-for-4 with four RBIs. His two-run, two-out single in the fifth inning chased Astros right-hander Doug Fister (8-5) and provided the White Sox (41-40) a 5-4 lead they never relinquished.
Navarro delivered a two-run triple to center field in the second that scored Todd Frazier and Alex Avila and erased a 1-0 deficit.
The second Navarro hit was especially decisive after the Astros (43-38) scratched across three runs against White Sox ace Chris Sale in the third. Houston led 4-2 by the close of the inning and was positioned to extend its home winning streak to seven games with Fister on the hill.
Second baseman Jose Altuve provided Houston a 1-0 lead with a home run off Sale in the first inning, his 14th homer this season.
Altuve was in the middle of three consecutive run-scoring plate appearances in the third, following a sacrifice bunt from Marwin Gonzalez and preceding an opposite-field RBI single by shortstop Carlos Correa that made it 4-2.
The Astros used a leadoff walk (Danny Worth) and bunt single (Jake Marisnick) to set the table against Sale. But after grabbing the lead, the Astros went silent until the eighth, with Sale retiring 13 of 14 batters before George Springer opened the eighth with a single to left.
By then, the White Sox had added two insurance runs to build their lead to 7-4. Center fielder J.B. Shuck, who homered off Fister in the fourth, cranked a two-out triple off left-hander Tony Sipp that scored Avisail Garcia. Shuck later scored when Tim Anderson doubled.
Sale (14-2) departed two batters into the eighth, just before Altuve drove in Springer with a sacrifice fly to right field off right-hander Nate Jones.
Sale allowed five runs (four earned), six hits and one walk with nine strikeouts in seven-plus innings. Jones retired all three batters he faced to preserve the lead in advance of closer David Robertson posting his 22nd save despite allowing the first career home run by Astros rookie A.J. Reed with two outs in the ninth.
Fister absorbed his second consecutive loss, allowing five runs, nine hits and five walks with three strikeouts in 4 2/3 rocky innings.
NOTES: Astros 2B Jose Altuve was named American League Player of the Month after hitting .420/.492/.620 with six doubles, four home runs and 15 RBIs with six stolen bases in 26 games in June. Altuve, a first-time recipient of the honor, led the AL in batting average, hits and on-base percentage last month and set a franchise record for batting average in June (minimum 75 plate appearances). He is the first Houston player to receive the distinction since Lance Berkman was named National League Player of the Month in May 2008. ... White Sox LF Melky Cabrera (sprained right wrist) could return to the lineup on Monday against the Yankees. Cabrera missed his fourth consecutive game. ... The White Sox acquired C Alfredo Gonzalez from the Astros in exchange for cash considerations and optioned him to Double-A Birmingham. To make room for Gonzalez on the 40-man roster, the club transferred RHP Daniel Webb to the 60-day disabled list. Gonzalez was designated for assignment on June 25 after batting .158 with seven RBIs and 14 runs in 44 games with Double-A Corpus Christi.