Astros 6, White Sox 2: Altuve's Two-Run Shot, Then a Four-Run Third

September 3, 2026 - Houston - Isaac Paredes walked with two outs in the first. Jose Altuve sent the next pitch into the left-field seats. The Houston Astros led 2-0, and the rest of Thursday at Daikin Park was Houston adding on and Hunter Brown keeping the Chicago White Sox from climbing all the way back.

Houston won 6-2 and took three of four from the AL Central leaders. The West lead is two games on Texas. In September that is the whole assignment.

Chicago tied it. Houston answered in one inning.

Luis Castillo (4-11) had already given up Altuve's 15th homer when the White Sox evened it in the second. Colson Montgomery and Tristan Peters reached. Jake Rogers singled Montgomery home. Sam Antonacci singled Peters home. 2-2. Chicago went 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position on the night. Those two hits were the productive half of that line.

The third was the inning that ended the argument. LaMonte Wade Jr. reached. Yordan Alvarez took a pitch off the shoulder. Paredes doubled off the left-field wall, Wade scored, Alvarez to third. 3-2. Two outs later Daulton Varsho tripled to center, his third triple of the year, and both runners scored. 5-2. Christian Walker singled Varsho home. 6-2.

Four runs. One inning. Castillo was done after four innings, six hits, six runs. Tyler Schweitzer, Trevor Richards, and José Urquidy kept Houston off the board the rest of the way. The damage was already in the book.

Look at the third again if you want the whole game. Wade on. Alvarez hit. Paredes off the wall. Varsho to the gap. Walker through the middle. Chicago had just tied it and then watched five batters turn a 2-2 game into a 6-2 game without a homer in that inning. Altuve had already gone deep. The third was the pile-on.

Brown's second straight win

Brown (5-3) went six innings, six hits, two runs, two walks, seven strikeouts. Second straight win. The two runs came in that second inning and did not come back. AJ Blubaugh, Bennett Sousa, and Bryan Abreu finished the last three frames. Chicago put two more hits on the board after the second and scored none of them.

Miguel Vargas and Chase Meidroth each had two hits. Vargas stole two bases and still did not score. Munetaka Murakami struck out three times. Andrew Benintendi walked and did not come around. The White Sox have lost four of five. First place in the Central does not look like first place when the middle of the order goes quiet on the road and the only two RISP hits come in the same inning.

Varsho's triple was the loudest ball after Altuve's homer. Paredes finished with a double, a walk, two runs, and an RBI. Walker drove in the sixth run. Alvarez did not need a hit. The hit-by-pitch in the third put him on second after Paredes' double, and Varsho cashed it.

The West, two games at a time

Houston is 72-69. Texas is 70-71 after shutting out Tampa Bay. Two games is the lead. The Astros won three of four against a White Sox club that still sits first in its own division at 73-67. That is a useful September series, even if the final on Thursday was not a blowout.

Chicago starts a three-game set in Minnesota on Friday, Erick Fedde (7-8, 4.16) against Zebby Matthews (9-8, 4.58). Houston hosts Arizona, Cristian Javier (1-5, 6.45) against Merrill Kelly (9-12, 5.08). The Astros do not need Javier to look like 2022. They need him to not give the West lead back in one start.

After the baseball

AthX Engine (our projection and scoring system) scored Brown at 17 pitching fantasy points, fourth among Thursday's arms. Houston posted 13 team FP, tied with the Athletics for third on the slate. Altuve's two-run homer and Varsho's two-RBI triple were the hitting half of that team total.

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*Sources: ESPN recap and box score, MLB.com gameday, MLB.com schedule, AthX Engine daily scoring for September 3, 2026. Information only; not financial advice.*