White Sox's Luis Castillo hopes for home magic vs. Mets

Inconsistent over his first three starts with the Chicago White Sox after arriving in a trade with Seattle, right-hander Luis Castillo hopes the comforts of his new home stadium will resurface on Saturday night.

Castillo (4-9, 4.99 ERA) will be the starting pitcher as the White Sox continue a three-game series against the New York Mets in Chicago.

He was dazzling on Aug. 12 in his Rate Field debut, delivering seven innings of one-hit, 10-strikeout ball to defeat the Cincinnati Reds 5-0.

Things weren't so sparkling when he pitched on the other side of Chicago on Monday. Castillo allowed back-to-back home runs to the Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki to open the game.

"Those first two batters, the first two homers, I just missed my spot, and that's what happens when you do that, right?" Castillo said through an interpreter. "After that, I think the catcher (Jake Rogers) and myself were on the same page, and from that moment on the outing was much, much better."

Castillo yielded four runs (three earned) and eight hits in 4 2/3 innings of his team's 7-5 loss in 10 innings. His battery mate in that game may have earned another start Saturday after playing the hero in American League Central-leading Chicago's 6-4 win over the Mets on Friday night.

Rogers hit a walk-off, two-run home run against Jefry Yan with two outs in the ninth inning. In the sixth, Miguel Vargas, Randal Grichuk and Colson Montgomery launched consecutive home runs as Chicago erased a 4-0 deficit.

"Never give up, man," Rogers said. "I mean, back-to-back-to-back homers that put us right back where we needed to be and then the bullpen came down, shut it down. Had some good at-bats there in the ninth to put me in a good position to make a good swing."

New York lost for just the fifth time in 16 games on Friday. Brett Baty had two hits and two RBIs, Marcus Semien added two hits, and Bo Bichette hit a solo home run.

Friday marked a return to Rate Field for Mets left fielder Luis Robert Jr., who played his first six major league seasons with the White Sox before joining New York in a Jan. 20 trade that sent infielder/outfielder Luisangel Acuna and pitching prospect Truman Pauley to Chicago.

Robert went 1-for-3 with a double, walk and a strikeout.

Just as during his time in Chicago, Robert has struggled to stay healthy this season.

"Right now the most important thing for me is to finish the season strong and just go out there and just try to be the best version of myself," Robert said through an interpreter.

Right-hander Christian Scott (4-3, 3.51 ERA) will start for New York in his first career appearance against the White Sox. On Sunday, he earned his first victory since July 16, spacing three runs and five hits in 6 1/3 innings to defeat the Washington Nationals 4-3. He walked two and struck out seven.

"I felt good," Scott said. "I lowered my pitch count for the most part. I got some really good contact when I needed to."

Castillo, meanwhile, is 2-1 with a 4.98 ERA in six career starts against the Mets, with 37 strikeouts in 34 1/3 innings.

--Field Level Media