Astros at White Sox
Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman has been igniting fireworks at the plate since July 4, batting 35-for-100 with five homers, 17 RBIs and 28 runs scored in that span. The 23-year-old carries a 10-game hitting streak - with the last nine featuring one extra-base hit - into Wednesday's second contest of a three-game series against the host Chicago White Sox.
Bregman moved to within one game of the franchise record held by Richard Hidalgo (2000) when he recorded his ninth straight contest with an extra-base hit following his three-run triple in Tuesday's 8-5 loss. Jose Altuve belted his second homer in four outings to improve to 8-for-17 with three RBIs and four runs scored in that stretch, but is just 2-for-14 against Wednesday starter Miguel Gonzalez. While Bregman and Altuve have been blistering hot since Independence Day, the White Sox snapped a six-game skid with just their fifth win in 28 contests since the American holiday. Kevan Smith drove in four runs in the series opener, eclipsing his combined RBI total (three) over his previous 21 games.
TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet Southwest (Houston), CSN Chicago
PITCHING MATCHUP: Astros RH Collin McHugh (0-0, 3.24 ERA) vs. White Sox RH Miguel Gonzalez (5-10, 5.15)
McHugh surrendered one earned run for the second straight outing in Thursday's tilt versus Tampa Bay, but is still looking for his first decision after missing 3 1/2 months with an elbow impingement. The 30-year-old surrendered just five hits and struck out six in six innings against the Rays to walk away with a smile. "It feels good to throw a full 100 pitches, to get a full game in," McHugh said. "It's been a long time for me. So, I think it's a step in the right direction for sure."
Gonzalez saw his streak of three solid starts end with a thud on Thursday after yielding seven runs on as many hits in 1 2/3 innings of a 9-5 setback at Boston. The 33-year-old was taken deep on two occasions against the Red Sox after keeping the ball in the park in each of his previous three outings. Gonzalez has struggled against Carlos Beltran (5-for-12) and All-Star George Springer (4-for-11, two homers), with the latter potentially returning on Wednesday after being sidelined since July 25 with a quad injury.
WALK-OFFS
1. Houston 1B Yuli Gurriel, who belted a solo homer in the series opener, has multi-hit performances in four of his last five games.
2. Chicago 1B Jose Abreu has four multi-hit efforts in his last eight contests.
3. Beltran has hit safely in four straight games and 12 of his last 14.