NEW YORK — Adrian Houser made 23 appearances last season with the New York Mets.
Monday, he was on the mound for the Chicago White Sox facing his former team at Citi Field.
“It was weird, especially since I’ve only been here (with the Sox) about a week now,” Houser said of returning to Citi Field. “Coming back here is a lot of emotions, a lot of stuff from last year. But I feel like I’m in a better spot this year. It was a lot of fun to face those guys.
“A lot of adjustments made in the offseason. Wasn’t able to identify them last season. I knew there was something in there and just wasn’t able to quite get to that point to identify it. And was able to do that in the offseason. And really been building off of that.”
Houser continued to show the strides he’s made since 2024, allowing three hits in six-plus scoreless innings. But the fine pitching performance wasn’t enough, as the Sox lost 2-1 in front of 39,938 on Memorial Day.
The Sox jumped out to a 1-0 lead, scoring in the fourth. The Mets tied it in the eighth with a sacrifice fly by Juan Soto against reliever Cam Booser and then picked up the walk-off win in the ninth with a sacrifice fly by Francisco Lindor against reliever Steven Wilson.
The Sox (17-37) suffered their second straight late-game defeat. The Texas Rangers scored three in the ninth Sunday and held on to top the Sox 5-4.
The lone run for the Sox on Monday came in the fourth inning with a sacrifice fly by Andrew Benintendi. The club went 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
Chicago White Sox outfielders Luis Robert Jr. and Michael A. Taylor scramble for a double hit by New York Mets’ Tyrone Taylor during the ninth inning on Monday, May 26, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
“It’s pretty hard because we were playing pretty good baseball today, pitching was doing a pretty good job,” catcher Edgar Quero said. “We missed a couple of opportunities, especially me, I missed an opportunity with guys in scoring position (grounding out with the bases loaded in the sixth). But it’s part of baseball.”
The Sox stranded 10 runners.
“Just got to continue to have good at-bats,” Sox manager Will Venable said. “The pitchers are going to find different ways to attack you and we have to adjust and find some ways.”
Houser made the proper adjustments throughout Monday’s start, his second straight strong performance since joining the Sox on May 20. He allowed two hits in six scoreless innings in that outing. Houser struck out six and walked one in the 99-pitch start on Monday.
“Objectively, his stuff has ticked up this year, which is part of the reason he’s attractive to us and had good results in Triple-A (Round Rock),” Venable said. “We’re lucky to have him. A guy that’s got experience and with the stuff ticking up, he’s in a good spot.”
According to Elias Sports Bureau, Houser is the fourth pitcher to throw six-plus scoreless innings in each of his first two starts with the White Sox, joining Frank Baumann in 1960, Jack Lamabe in 1966 and Johnny Cueto in 2022.
“It’s awesome, being able to continue what I was doing in the last game, especially with (being) on the fly (in) the first game, figuring things out,” Houser said. “And then being able to have a full week to adjust and get the game plan going for this time is good to keep building off of that. Just trying to do that all season, just stack one start on top of another.”
Last season, Houser was 1-5 with a 5.84 ERA in the 23 appearances (seven starts) for the Mets. He joined them after pitching for the Milwaukee Brewers in parts of seven seasons (2015, 2018-23).
Houser pitched for Round Rock in the Rangers organization this year before coming to the Sox.
Houser cruised until the seventh, when he walked Soto leading off the inning. Pete Alonso then singled. The Sox called on lefty Brandon Eisert, who got Starling Marte to hit into a fielder’s choice.
That gave the Mets runners on the corners. Brett Baty hit a grounder back to the mound and Eisert looked the runner back at third, then threw to first for the second out. After walking Tyrone Taylor to load the bases, Eisert struck out Jeff McNeil looking to keep the Sox ahead 1-0.
“That’s huge,” Houser said. “Ice in his veins, right there. That’s iceman, for sure. Coming in that situation, obviously I put him in a tough one. And he came in, made some huge pitches, didn’t give up anything there. That’s a big spot for us.”
But the Mets tied it an inning later and won it in the ninth. In the ninth, Taylor doubled and later scored on the sacrifice fly by Lindor.
“You play well, put yourself in a good spot there, got to find a way to score some more runs,” Venable said. “Pitching and defense did a great job. We did a good job offensively, they made some really good plays — so just got to find ways.”
Rotation news
Right-hander Jonathan Cannon will start Tuesday’s game against the Mets, the Sox announced.
Cannon was scratched from his scheduled start on Saturday against the Rangers because of lower back tightness.
With his return to the rotation, the Sox shifted Shane Smith’s start to Wednesday.
Originally Published: May 26, 2025 at 7:06 PM CDT