'Puke And Rally': Adrian Houser Cools Off Red-Hot Blue Jays, White Sox Win 2-1

CHICAGO –– White Sox radio play-by-play broadcaster Len Kasper told an interesting but not uncommon story about Adrian Houser as he welcomed listeners back for the bottom of the first inning of Wednesday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rate Field.

“Adrian Houser had an issue going into the White Sox dugout, and I guess he lost his lunch, so to speak,” Kasper said. “… But that is not uncommon for Adrian Houser. For whatever reason, he gets an upset stomach.” 

“And we weren’t quite sure, he was pointing at his chest as he was walking into the dugout. … You noticed that usually after the first inning. The starter will get checked for foreign substances, and I think he told the umpire, ‘You don’t want to be anywhere near me.’”

It’s not the first time Houser has pitched through these circumstances. With the Milwaukee Brewers in 2018 and 2019, Houser vomited on the mound. He nearly did so again during his June 7 start with the White Sox –– medical staff came out to check on him –– but he kept it down that time. 

It happened again on Wednesday.

"Oh yeah, that's probably about the fifth time,” Houser said after leading the White Sox to a 2-1 win with another outstanding start.

“So that's nothing new. The trainers knew. I told them when I came in. I was like, 'Hey, this is a possibility.' So once I get it out, it's all good. Ready to rock and roll. I felt a lot better after it. So I was able to settle in after that and just, you know, puke and rally.”

Houser is used to pitching through that, so it was no issue again on Wednesday, even against a dangerous Blue Jays lineup. He knows he’ll feel better after drinking some water, using a cold towel and sticking his hand in an ice bucket. It rained hard at Rate Field before the game, and Houser noted it was quite humid in the first inning. But once the wind came in and cooled things down, he was able to get his legs under him.

Houser finished with seven innings, seven hits, one earned run, two walks and two strikeouts, lowering his ERA to 1.56 through nine starts and 57.2 innings with the White Sox.

"The sinker was really working today,” Houser said. “We were able to disguise it a little bit with the changeup. Throwing the other pitches in there just to mix it up, and was able to get a lot of ground balls today. So the defense was great behind me, helping me out in some big positions and got me out of some tough jams."

Houser had one of his biggest challenges of the season on Wednesday against a Blue Jays lineup averaging 6.6 runs per game during their 10-game win streak, vaulting them into first place in the American League East. They frequently made Houser work out of jams, but that may have made the 32-year-old right-hander’s performance even more impressive. 

Houser faced immediate trouble after letting up a pair of hard-hit singles to begin the game. That brought up four-time All-Star Vladimir Guerrero Jr., but Houser’s sinker at the bottom of the zone induced a key double play. Houser placed a changeup on the low and outside corner in the next at-bat to Addison Barger, who grounded out to a sliding Tim Elko at first base. 

More traffic on the bases came in the second inning against Houser, who gave up a leadoff double and walked the third batter. The Blue Jays scratched across a run on a bunt single from Tyler Heineman down the first base line. Houser tried to field it with his glove but couldn’t pick it up cleanly, allowing Will Wagner to score from third. The White Sox were able to limit the damage, though, as Elko caught a line drive and doubled off Leo Jimenez at second to end the inning. 

The third inning required a unique defensive play by Houser. With two outs, he attempted to pick off Guerrero at first base, but the ball skipped past Elko for a throwing error. Second baseman Meidroth collected it and tried to throw out the runner advancing to second, but shortstop Colson Montgomery couldn’t scoop the low throw. White Sox third baseman Miguel Vargas corralled the loose ball a few steps into the left field grass and tossed it to a running Houser, who beat Guerrero to third base and tagged him out.

Houser settled in with 1-2-3 innings in the fourth and fifth, a major help to his pitch count. By then, the White Sox had taken a 2-1 lead, thanks to RBIs from Edgar Quero and Lenyn Sosa in the fourth. Quero finished the day with a team-high two hits, a pair of doubles. 

"Edgar continues to have quality at-bats, especially against left-handed pitching," White Sox manager Will Venable said. "He’s always putting good swings on pitches and giving us a lot of substance in the middle of the lineup against lefties.

The White Sox weren’t out of the clear just yet, though, as Houser gave up a leadoff single and walked the second batter of the sixth inning. But to get out of the inning, Houser got Guerrero to ground out, and Elko made yet another solid defensive play, fielding a ground ball at first base and turning the double play. Houser gave up another single to lead off the seventh, but retired the next three batters to end his outing on a high note.

Grant Taylor and Jordan Leasure tossed scoreless innings in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, shutting down the heart of the Blue Jays’ order. Venable said he was only going to ask Taylor to pitch one inning today, but noted there will be other opportunities for Taylor to attempt multi-inning saves like he’s done in the past. 

“They were amazing,” Venable said. “Grant Taylor did his job. And Leasure behind him was outstanding. Just a really good overall day.”

Leasure considered it one of his better outings of the season, while acknowledging he could have made a better pitch on the hard lineout by Myles Straw to end the game.

"Felt good. That's a really, really good offensive team,” Laisure said. “Definitely went in with a lot of focus on executing my pitches and I felt like I did that. Feels good to keep that win for us."

Houser’s success may have been surprising through his first several starts, given that he started the season in Triple-A and posted a 5.84 ERA with the New York Mets last season. But now through nine outings with the White Sox, seeing him mow down opposing hitters has become a regular occurrence. 

Houser has been confident since making adjustments in the offseason, but there’s been at least some element of surprise to the way he’s performed.

“I wouldn't say I was expecting to go on as good of a run that I'm on now. But yeah, I expected to have some better success this year with all the mechanical changes that I made,” Houser said. “And just being able to get the ball better, throwing the ball better, making extra life on the ball and just overall improving everything."

Houser’s 1.56 ERA is tied for the fourth-lowest among qualified MLB pitchers since he signed a one-year, $1.35 million deal with the White Sox on May 20 after beginning the season with the Texas Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate. 

Houser was originally signed to help protect the White Sox young pitching staff from throwing too many innings, but he’s certainly exceeded those expectations.

“Not even soak up innings but dominating,” Leasure said. “It's a lot of fun to watch for us, especially down in the bullpen with how he's attacking hitters. He's been really, really good. Kinda hoping he was going to be an All-Star but I think for him to come in and do that has been really impressive. We all love him as a person too. He's been a great guy to have around."