NEW YORK — Veteran right-hander Adrian Houser is running a gauntlet to start his White Sox tenure. He debuted last week on short notice to notch a win against the Mariners, who are tied for 10th in the major leagues in runs scored.
On Monday, he started against the Mets, who had moved him from the rotation to the bullpen before designating him for assignment last July.
Through 12 innings over those two starts, Houser, 32, has yet to allow a run. He was undaunted by a Mets lineup that includes stars Pete Alonso, Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor, allowing three hits and a walk while striking out six in the Sox’ 2-1 loss.
The Mets tied the game in the eighth on Soto’s sacrifice fly off Cam Booser and won it in the ninth on Lindor’s sacrifice fly off Steven Wilson.
Before that, Houser kept the Mets quiet with his fastball (four-seamer and two-seamer) and changeup.
“Being able to have a full week to adjust and get the game plan going for this time is good to keep building off of [each start] and trying to do that all season,” Houser said.
He became the fourth pitcher to throw six-plus scoreless innings in his first two starts with the Sox, joining Frank Baumann (1960), Jack Lamabe (1966) and Johnny Cueto (2022), according to Elias Sports Bureau.
“His stuff has ticked up this year, which is part of the reason he’s attractive to us and had good results at Triple-A [with other organizations],” manager Will Venable said. “We’re lucky to have him.”
The Sox (17-37) were 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position but still in the game because of Houser. They’ve scored just one run in both his starts.
Houser said a 72-hour fast and a carnivore diet in the offseason helped him increase his velocity. So did PitchingWRX, a data-driven training facility for pitchers.
“[It] identified some things and was able to help me get my arm strength stronger,” he said. “With the combination of being good in the mechanics and the stronger arm strength, everything is starting to play up.”
Palacios’ homecoming
Citi Field holds a special place in the heart of Sox outfielder and Brooklyn native Joshua Palacios, who was a teenager when it replaced Shea Stadium in 2009 and played his first game in New York there against the Mets in 2022.
Palacios, who estimated he’d have 15-20 friends and family at the stadium during this series, credited his New York upbringing for giving him the toughness to handle the ups and downs of a major-league season.
“To play baseball [in New York] is not easy because there’s not a lot of resources,” he said. “You’ve got to travel a lot. You’ve got to be on the train to get all your work in. [Being from New York] improved my work ethic.”
Cannon back on calendar
After being scratched Saturday with tightness in his lower back, right-hander Jonathan Cannon will instead start against the Mets on Tuesday, followed by right-hander Shane Smith on Wednesday. Cannon has a 2.74 ERA in May with 15 strikeouts and no walks and has been one of the Sox’ more consistent pitchers this season.