The Chicago White Sox handed the Houston Astros a 5-1 defeat on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, at Minute Maid Park, with right-hander Sean Burke delivering 5.2 innings of one-hit, scoreless baseball and Colson Montgomery driving in two runs to pace the offense. The win was clean, the pitching was sharp, and the Sox handled business on the road against an American League opponent that couldn't solve Burke all night.

Sean Burke Shuts Down Houston Through Six

Burke was the story from the jump. Working 5.2 innings, he struck out six Astros while walking four and allowing just one hit. That is a pitcher in command of his stuff — six punchouts on one hit is not luck, it is execution. The walk total kept things from being a surgical masterpiece, but Burke consistently got out of trouble and kept the Astros off the board. He picks up the win and, frankly, earned every bit of it.

Bryan Hudson followed with 1.1 innings of scoreless relief, striking out two. Jordan Hicks worked a clean eighth before allowing one earned run in his inning of work, and Grant Taylor closed it out with a two-strikeout, zero-hit ninth. The bullpen did its job after Burke exited.

Montgomery, Vargas, and Meidroth Drive the Offense

On the offensive side, three White Sox hitters went 2-for-4 on the night. Colson Montgomery was the most impactful, collecting two hits and knocking in both of Chicago's runs that he was directly responsible for — his two RBIs were the difference-makers that put the game out of reach. Miguel Vargas added two hits, and Chase Meidroth contributed another two-hit effort, keeping the pressure on Houston's pitching staff throughout the night.

Houston's rotation ran into trouble in the fifth inning stretch of the game. Ronel Blanco held Chicago to three hits and no runs over four innings, but Kai-Wei Teng took the loss after surrendering three earned runs on three hits across two innings. Tatsuya Imai allowed two more earned runs over three innings of late work as Chicago kept adding to the lead.

Houston's Lone Bright Spot: Isaac Paredes

The Astros had little to hang their hat on offensively. Isaac Paredes provided the lone run with a solo home run, going 1-for-4 on the night. Taylor Trammell went 2-for-3 but never factored in the scoring. Beyond those two, Houston's lineup was largely neutralized by the Sox pitching staff from start to finish.

Key Performances at a Glance

  • Sean Burke (W): 5.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 6 K
  • Bryan Hudson: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
  • Jordan Hicks: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
  • Grant Taylor: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
  • Colson Montgomery: 2-for-4, 2 RBI
  • Miguel Vargas: 2-for-4
  • Chase Meidroth: 2-for-4
  • Isaac Paredes (HOU): 1-for-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI

What's Next for the White Sox

The White Sox remain in Houston as this series continues. Burke's performance gives the pitching staff something to build on, and the lineup showed it can generate multi-hit contributions across the board. The Sox will look to carry Tuesday's momentum into the next game and keep the pressure on in this road series.