*Official 7/16 Houston we have a problem...

[Lipman 1]

They better hope they don't face Houston come October.

Baseball is a funny game...the awful Orioles can beat Houston...the White Sox roll over and die.

After tonight's performance by the bullpen does anybody doubt that Hahn needs to bring in help and get rid of some folks?

Just wondering...has Cease beaten anybody with a winning record? Serious question. Had a lot of K's tonight (which pitcher doesn't today) but his wildness cost him a bit and he did give up some untimely hits.

Try not to suck Saturday guys.

[PaleHoser]

Cease’s line would look a lot better if Garcia could cover the bag on a ground ball.

[thomas35forever]

Is the way they've played Houston so far concerning? Yes. Am I worried? No, because this team will (should?) be more loaded come playoff time. Let's wait to see what they look like after the trade deadline, then we'll throw in the towel before an Astros series.

[Domeshot17]

Another bad game against a good team.

[voodoochile]

Another bad game against a good team.

Houston is playing great baseball. If their starting pitching continues like this they are going to be very tough in the playoffs.

[Lipman 1]

Another bad game against a good team.

Yep, they seem to have a number of them don't they? But as Thomas said, to be fair let's see what the team looks like after Hahn goes to work (and he damn well better...)

[TDog]

This really wasn't a very good pitching matchup. After four off days, I'm not sure why Cease is starting. Maybe pitchers who went to the All-Star Game need more rest, bit if that's the case it seems like a reason not to send pitchers to the All-Star Game. With a chance to rest the rotation, maybe the Sox are more concerned with matchups after the Houston series or additional midseason rest. Giolita, who is a distant third in the rotation right now, is scheduled to start Saturday and Rodon is going Sunday. It doesn't look like probables have been announced for the Minnesota series yet, but they could be playing in their third straight doubleheader on Monday.

It isn't that tonight's wasn't a winnable game. If Cease doesn't walk the No. 9 hitter with two outs and none on, He might have turned over a tie game to the bullpen -- not a guaranteed win, but the Sox would have been in the game. What really hurt was the Bummer/Ruiz inning. Maybe Lopez should have come in earlier.

But where this game turned was the Abreu at bat in the bottom of the first. After two pitches, the Sox had a run in and a runner on second. Abreu neither got got Moncada in or over, and one run was all the Sox had to show for the first, and they didn't get another hit until the ninth. That second run would have made a big difference in how the game played out, even if you tab Cease as what is effectively your second opening day starter.

I'm not concerned that the Sox can't beat the Astros, but I hope they gained something in the long run by not putting out a more competitive mound effort against the Astros with a tough starting pitcher tonight.

[Lipman 1]

As of right now Sox record vs. teams with winning records in the A.L.:

Boston 2-2
Tampa Bay 2-1
Toronto 2-1
Yankees 0-3
Cleveland 5-6
Houston 0-5
Seattle 3-3

Total: 14-21

And if you count the Angels who are exactly at .500:

Angels 1-3

Total: 15-24.

Not good.

[Frater Perdurabo]

As of right now Sox record vs. teams with winning records in the A.L.:

Boston 2-2
Tampa Bay 2-1
Toronto 2-1
Yankees 0-3
Cleveland 5-6
Houston 0-5
Seattle 3-3

Total: 14-21

And if you count the Angels who are exactly at .500:

Angels 1-3

Total: 15-24.

Not good.

No, it’s not good, but it’s also what happens when for most of the season so far we’ve had a patchwork OF to make up for losing our top four OFs due to injury, and also now missing our starting 2B and C.

Hamilton, Goodwin, the rookie Vaughn, Garcia, Mendick, and Collins/Zavala are good enough to help the Sox routinely beat up on weaker pitching and leaky defense of non-contenders, but together they are not good enough (although Vaughn certainly is improving) consistently to beat good teams.

[LITTLE NELL]

34,000 show up and the Sox lay an egg, 3 lousy hits along with 12 Ks, not going to win many games that way. Well at least the Tribe lost and we kept the 8 game lead.

[BigKlu59]

34,000 show up and the Sox lay an egg, 3 lousy hits along with 12 Ks, not going to win many games that way. Well at least the Tribe lost and we kept the 8 game lead.

Bad way to start the 2nd half at home, but as you say, it’s a wash of a nite as the Lake Erie Alewife washed up on the shore as well. At this point I’m all about series wins and sweeps of teams of rubbish that need to be discarded in the dust bin. Hope Giolito and Rodon can hurl some gems and the bats thaw out from their cryogenic state.

BK59

[Harwar]

This is maybe the 3rd time that i've seen Cease do this . come out firing on all cylinders, only to fall apart after 3 or 4 innings . anyway it's difficult to win when you can't square up any balls after the 1st inning.

[FielderJones]

None of the Astros pitchers that started in the Orioles series are scheduled against the Sox. Of those three, only Greinke seems legit. Urquidy and Garcia seem like spot starters.

[blurry]

Can’t be the best if you can’t beat the best teams, regardless of injuries. The record is what it is mostly due to the weak division.

Games like this make me torn between standing pat on moves and making a splashy trade to acquire a big bat and a bullpen arm.

[Chez]

Damn, these one game losing streaks are just killing the team. All seven of Houston's runs came with two outs. There were only a few hard hit balls by the Astros, but they certainly made the most of the ones that were hard hit and a couple of 7 hoppers through the infield. Happy to hear the big crowd give it to Altuve, Gurriel and Correra. The boos and the heckling were impressive.