CHICAGO – The White Sox got their work done at just the right time.

With rain coming down Sunday afternoon at Rate Field, rookie shortstop Chase Meidroth led off the sixth inning with a walk and stole second base. Luis Robert Jr. singled him home to tie the Astros, then took the MLB lead with his 15th stolen base.

Edgar Quero continued the strong start to his MLB career, singling up the middle to score Robert and give the White Sox a one run lead. In the bottom half, right-hander Mike Vasil induced an inning-ending double play before the game went into a rain delay.

After waiting one hour and 20 minutes, the game was called off and ruled a 5-4 win for Chicago, which scored five unanswered runs in the fifth and sixth innings.

The big moment didn’t faze the White Sox rookie catcher.

“I like to be in those moments,” Quero said. “Sometimes I’m going to be good, sometimes I’m going to maybe not do the job, but I’m not scared of being in those moments. I like those moments.”

With this victory, the White Sox won their second series of the season and improved to 10-24 overall. They won their 10th game last season on May 9, when they were 10-28. Next up, the White Sox travel to Kansas City for a four-game series against the Royals, beginning Monday at 6:40 p.m. CT.

Houston opened the scoring in the second inning as White Sox starter Bryse Wilson loaded the bases with two walks and a single by Zach Dezenzo. He nearly got out of the jam by striking out Brendan Rodgers, but Mauricio Dubón lined Wilson’s cutter back up the middle for a two-RBI single.

Vasil was warming up during the fourth inning, but the White Sox decided to stick with Wilson to begin the fifth against Christian Walker, a right-on-right matchup. Walker led off the inning with a single, and Wilson retired the next two batters. But he couldn’t finish his start strong as Dezenzo hit a low and inside changeup from Wilson 393 feet for a two-run home run.

Dezenz swung and missed at a changeup in a similar location on the previous pitch, which had Wilson second-guessing his sequencing.

“Probably knew it was my last hitter so I thought it was the right pitch, thought the location was really good,” Wilson said. “Maybe I shouldn’t have doubled up, maybe I should’ve went somewhere else and then back to it. He made the adjustment.”

That gave Houston a 4-0 lead and knocked Wilson out of the game. In his longest outing of the year, Wilson felt he had enough stamina by the end and maintained his velocity throughout the start. He finished with 4.2 innings, nine hits, four earned runs, two walks and four strikeouts.

In the early innings, the White Sox couldn’t come through with a clutch hit despite putting runners on against Astros Starter Lance McCullers Jr. Quero grounded out with runners on second and third in the first inning, and Miguel Vargas popped out to second base in the second, stranding the bases loaded.

Making his first MLB appearance since 2022 due to injuries, McCullers – part of Houston’s 2017 and 2022 World Series teams – threw 87 pitches before being pulled with two outs in the fourth. Tayler Scott entered with runners on the corners, but induced a Chase Meidroth ground out to escape the jam. McCullers finished with 3.2 innings, three hits, zero earned runs, three walks and four strikeouts.

White Sox manager Will Venable thought the lineup, which finished with six walks and just five strikeouts, was putting together good at-bats early and that it was going to pay off later on. The White Sox took advantage of a Houston mistake in the fifth to mount their comeback. As Dezenzo drifted in for a high fly ball from Benintendi, the ball deflected off his glove for a fielding error on what should have been a routine play.

Venable said Benintendi injured his calf at some point while getting out of the box and running to first on that play.

“He’s alright, just a little calf soreness,” Venable said. “Just wanted to be proactive there especially with the conditions and just turn the page on the day. But he’ll be day to day.”

After loading the bases with a walk by Robert and a single by Quero, Josh Rojas walked to earn his first RBI in a White Sox uniform. Lenyn Sosa trimmed the deficit to 4-3, driving Ryan Gusto’s sweeper 107.6 mph up the middle for two RBI. All three runs were unearned to Gusto’s line, due to Dezenzo’s error.

The White Sox rode that momentum into the sixth, as Robert and Quero put them ahead with back-to-back RBI singles. The rookie catcher is now batting .340 with an .850 OPS. Putting his bat behind Robert’s speed has created a productive combination.

“It’s been a real weapon obviously,” Venable said. “For him to steal all the bases he has without really getting going offensively, and obviously the last couple days have been a lot better from him. But yeah, it’s a real weapon for us and we were able to take advantage of it today.”

Vasil relieved Wilson and provided 2.1 shutout innings with zero hits and two base runners allowed. His changeup got Victor Caratini to ground into an inning-ending double play in the seventh, the last play before a rain delay. With another strong outing Sunday, Vasil lowered his ERA to 0.92 through the first 19.2 innings of his MLB career.

He was especially fired up after the double play.

“I tend to get a little excited out there,” Vasil said. “But I think for me, obviously the weather is starting to get tough, gripping the ball. To be able to turn a double play in that situation with that lineup is huge.”

The White Sox have played some of their best baseball of late, winning three of the last four games against solid ball clubs in Houston and Milwaukee. The challenge continues on the road against a Royals team that has won 11 of their last 13 games, including a seven-home run game in Sunday’s 11-6 win over Baltimore.