Chicago White Sox lose to Houston Astros 4-1, fall to 20-55

Victor Caratini led off the Houston Astros’ third inning with a single between shortstop and third, just out of reach of Chicago White Sox third baseman Lenyn Sosa’s diving reach.

Chas McCormick followed with a double that slipped past a diving Sosa down the third-base line.

It was one of those nights where the Astros found some holes against the Sox.

Still, starter Garrett Crochet did his best to minimize the damage. The left-hander got out of this impasse by allowing only one point.

Crochet allowed three runs in six innings Wednesday in a 4-1 loss to the Astros in front of 14,124 at Guaranteed Rate Field.

“They executed their plan,” Hook said. “Thank you to them for that. I wasn’t ready to move away from mine when I felt like I wasn’t going to get beat. But they managed to score points, so thanks to them.

“I would have liked to water (the slider and changeup) a little earlier, but it was pretty weak contact until then. It wasn’t something I was willing to burn out on throwing my first slider, my first changeup. I’m going to keep hitting with my power stuff, and if they keep getting broken singles, thanks to them.

Crochet allowed nine hits, struck out eight and walked one while throwing 85 pitches.

“I think we’re all pretty spoiled with him, considering a six-inning, three-run outing to be atypical of his outings,” manager Pedro Grifol said. “It’s a very good outing. They had a good plan, they attacked early, he made throws (and) minimized the damage.

The Sox’ only run came in the fourth on an Andrew Benintendi homer.

Photos: Houston Astros 4, Chicago White Sox 1

Astros starter Hunter Brown made the big throws when he needed to, like in the fifth. The Sox trailed 2-1, but had runners on first and third with one out after singles by Korey Lee and Tommy Pham. Gavin Sheets hit a grounder to first, which turned into an inning-ending 3-6-3 double play.

“He commanded the zone, threw the pitches he needed, executed when he needed to, had a good curveball, had a good slider today,” Lee said of Brown. “There’s a lot of power behind that. He now has that lead that also keeps you on your toes.

Brown allowed one run on seven hits over six innings. He received more support in the sixth when Cesar Salazar extended the Astros’ lead with an RBI single. Salazar had two hits and two RBIs.

Meanwhile, the Sox went 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position and fell to 20-55, the worst 75-game start in franchise history (previously 25-50 by the 1929 clubs, 1934, 1948 and 2018).

Despite the loss, Grifol continues to see Crochet’s growth during his first season as a major league starter.

“That’s an important skill for a beginner: being able to minimize damage and understand that your job is to go deep into matches,” Grifol said. “I think he did a great job this year. It’s one of those things where it really doesn’t surprise me because he’s a really smart kid, but it’s pretty remarkable how quickly he got going.

“He understands the starters, their job is to go deep in games and he understands how to do it. And he understands how to save locations and minimize damage. To me, this is remarkable considering the lack of experience he has as a starter. So what he’s doing this year is spectacular in my eyes. And today he got off to a good start and gave us a chance to win.