HOUSTON – The White Sox offense didn’t do much in Wednesday night’s 2-0 loss to the Astros, but the way things unraveled after Tristan Peters’ eighth-inning leadoff triple made a three-hit shutout still go down as a game defined by mistakes.
Drew Romo walked after Peters’ triple drew the Astros infield in, with the game still scoreless. Despite Sam Antonacci grounding directly to shortstop Jeremy Peña, Peters ran home after a brief hesitation, and was out by several steps. After a longer than usual postgame wait, Will Venable defended Peters and his players, with slight critiques.
“Maybe you try and get into a rundown there, but [he’s] trying to stay out of the double play,” Venable said. “Tristan did the right thing by going and obviously [we] just weren’t able to advance the backside runners.”
Munetaka Murakami followed by lacing a single to right, but Romo’s late read on the liner kept him from advancing past third.
“If that ball is hit right at him and I take off running without looking, then it’s a double play and you are asking me the same question,” Romo said.
Venable acknowledged the poor read while defending Romo’s baserunning acumen, but should he still have been in the game at all?
Will Venable discusses Sox baserunning from tonight’s eighth inning. pic.twitter.com/wlG5hkp5OV
— James Fegan (@JRFegan) September 3, 2026
Speedsters Brenton Doyle and Luisangel Acuña were both available to pinch-run and backup catcher Jake Rogers could have subbed in for them afterward. Venable said that was discussed, but not employed.
“He’s catching a shutout there,” Venable said of Romo. “If you go back, probably would have chose to do it.”
After Miguel Vargas grounded into a double play to end the threat, the Astros plated the decisive runs in the eighth, aided by two more frustrating mistakes.
A Yordan Alvarez grounder deflected off Chase Meidroth’s glove for a leadoff single, and Sean Newcomb bounced a two-strike pitch between Jose Altuve’s legs that was ruled a hit-by-pitch to load the bases, and held up on review despite the Sox feeling they had clear evidence.
With Newcomb dominating right-handers all year, Venable had no misgivings about letting him face Nelson Velazquez a second time, even after his two-run single. The inning already offered plenty of material for second-guessing as is.
From opening day starter to Triple-A reliever
Shane Smith’s last two outings with Triple-A Charlotte have been in relief, as the White Sox abandon notions of restoring his place in the rotation this year. Those outings have also both been scoreless.
“He’s an option,” Venable said of Smith’s chances of contributing to the major league bullpen. “I think he looks really good.”
Brazoban begins rehab
Eight days after being placed on the injured list with a strained left lat, right-handed reliever Huascar Brazoban began a Triple-A rehab assignment on Wednesday with a scoreless inning.
That normally would suggest a swift return for an important White Sox trade-deadline acquisition, but Brazoban allowed six runs in his last five innings before his injury, and the Sox want to see a return to form before he’s activated.
Bush and Berroa update
After both underwent Tommy John surgery in spring 2025, Ky Bush and Prelander Berroa have also been sidelined all this year with setbacks in their rehab process.
Bush is officially done for the season due to a left lat strain, while Berroa will throw off a mound again next week for the first time since May.