CHICAGO (AP) — Lance McCullers Jr. pitched seven sparkling innings, and the Houston Astros beat the Chicago White Sox 7-1 in the opener of a weekend series between AL division leaders. Michael Brantley homered and Myles Straw drove in three runs as the Astros improved to a big league-best 43-22 against teams with a .500 or better record. The White Sox won five in a row before the All-Star break, closing out a 6-3 road trip. But they were outplayed again by the Astros, who rolled to a four-game sweep in their first meeting of the season last month in Houston.
