CHICAGO (AP) - The Houston Astros and Josh Reddick just keep climbing - and pouring frustration on the Chicago White Sox.
Reddick hit a grand slam and a solo homer, and the Astros pounded the reeling White Sox 10-1 on Saturday night for their fifth straight win.
Already struggling on the field - and especially on the mound - the White Sox were dealt another blow Saturday when they learned that reliever Danny Farquhar suffered a brain hemorrhage while collapsing in the dugout Friday night.
Reddick and the defending World Series champions hit wild Chicago starter Lucas Giolito hard to race to a 10-0 lead after four innings. Reddick upped his home run total to six after hitting 13 all last season.
“I didn’t think I was going to have six in the first month, so this is pretty over the standard for myself,” Reddick said. “I’d like to get the average up, but the way I’m swinging the bat right now, I’m not going to complain.”
Dallas Keuchel, the 2015 AL Cy Young Award winner, cruised to his first victory after being staked to the big lead early. Keuchel (1-3) allowed one run and four hits in six innings while striking out six.
“I’ve been asking for runs, then I was mad because we scored too many runs and it was a slow pace to start the game, but we’ll take ’em,” Keuchel said. “We’re swinging the bat. That’s who we are.”
Marwin Gonzalez drove in two runs with a double, and Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa and Yuli Gurriel each had an RBI as Houston routed Chicago for a second straight night. Six of the seven Astros batters walked by Giolito scored.
Recently re-acquired Trayce Thompson hit his first homer for the White Sox, who lost their sixth straight and 11th of 12. Chicago dropped to 1-7 at Guaranteed Rate Field, matching its worst start at home since 1971.
The White Sox have allowed 50 runs in their last five games.
“Listen, right now honestly we’re just in a little bit of a rut,” manager Rick Renteria said. “We’re not getting any pitching and we’re not doing a whole lot of hitting.
“It’s kind of a perfect storm for any ballclub.”
Farquhar collapsed after recording two outs in the sixth inning of Friday’s 10-0 loss to Houston. The 31-year-old was in critical but stable condition in the neurosurgical intensive care unit at nearby Rush University Medical Center. The White Sox hung Farquhar’s No. 43 jersey in their bullpen.
Farquhar’s diagnosis stunned the White Sox, but Renteria said it didn’t affect his players once the game started.
“I didn’t see any of them putting their head down,” Renteria said. “I thought they were actually were trying to play for him a little bit today.”
Giolito (0-3) was rocked for nine runs in two-plus innings in his first start since April 12 after the team had three straight games postponed by inclement weather in Minnesota. The 23-year-old right-hander allowed five hits and threw only 31 of 72 pitches for strikes.
“Yeah, about as bad as it could get,” Giolito said. “I didn’t have a feel for much of anything.”
The Astros sent nine men to the plate in the first as they capitalized on Giolito’s lack of command. Correa singled in a run, and then Gurriel drove one in with a sacrifice fly before Gonzalez’s ground-rule double bounced over the right-center field wall with the bases loaded to plate two more.
Giolito walked the first three batters to start the second. Then Reddick drove the first pitch he saw, a knee-high fastball, over the right-field fence to make it 8-0.
Gioloto exited after walking Gonzalez and Evan Gattis to start the third. After George Springer hit into a double play, Altuve’s single off Chris Volstad drove in Gonzalez to make it 9-0.
Reddick lined his solo shot to right to lead off the fourth.
Thompson, acquired for cash from Oakland on Friday, homered to right-center in the fifth.
TRAINER’S ROOM
White Sox: Asked if Farquhar required surgery, manager Rick Renteria said, “We’ll see how they proceed and hopefully the outcome is a positive one.” The right-hander was placed on the 10-day disabled list and RHP Gregory Infante was recalled from Triple-A Charlotte. Infante pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth. … 2B Yoan Moncada left the game after two innings with a sore left hamstring and was replaced with Leury Garcia. Moncada slowed down running to first in first at-bat.
JUST GRAND
Reddick’s grand slam was his second this season and seventh of this career. He became the first Astros player to hit two in a calendar month since Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell did it in May 2001.
UP NEXT
Astros RHP Lance McCullers Jr. (2-1, 5.57) faces White Sox RHP Reynaldo Lopez (0-2, 1.42) in the series finale on Sunday. McCullers comes off a dominant seven-inning outing at Seattle last Tuesday, when he allowed one run, one hit and struck out 11. Lopez has allowed only three earned runs in 19 innings, but the White Sox have scored just three runs combined in his three starts.
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