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Vaughn plated Tim Anderson and Luis Robert Jr.
with his one-out hit off Astros closer Ryan Pressly (0-1).
Grandal struck an inning earlier off Astros right-hander Rafael
Montero, erasing a one-run deficit with his 401-foot solo blast
to right-center field with two outs.
Reynaldo Lopez, Chicago's fourth pitcher, picked up a
white-knuckle save despite allowing a 442-foot solo home run to
Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez with one out in the bottom of the
ninth. Lopez recovered and struck out Yainer Diaz with the tying
run on base.
White Sox right-hander Dylan Cease was exceptional, flashing the
form that led to his second-place finish in American League Cy
Young balloting last season. He surrendered a leadoff single to
Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena in the first inning then followed
by retiring 19 consecutive batters.
Cease overwhelmed the Astros with his plus breaking balls. He
generated six swinging strikes with his slider and five more
with his knuckle curveball, both of which complemented a
four-seam fastball that averaged 97.1 miles per hour. Of his 86
pitches, 27 were fastballs.
Yet, despite his brilliance, Cease did not complete his outing
unscathed. He hit Alvarez with a pitch with one out in the
seventh and surrendered a single to Jose Abreu. Cease departed
having recorded 10 strikeouts without issuing a walk. He allowed
two singles over 6 1/3 innings.
Cease matched the franchise record for strikeouts in an Opening
Day start set by right-hander Jack McDowell against the
Baltimore Orioles on April 8, 1991.
Upon entering in relief of Cease, White Sox left-hander Aaron
Bummer loaded the bases with a walk to Kyle Tucker and uncorked
a wild pitch two batters later that plated Alvarez and spotted
Houston a short-lived 1-0 lead. A half-inning later, Grandal
knotted the score with his homer.
Astros left-hander Framber Valdez allowed six hits and posted
four strikeouts over five scoreless innings. Houston had its
modern-day record of 10 consecutive Opening Day wins snapped.
--Field Level Media
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