Edgar Quero had two hits and two RBIs and Luis Robert Jr. homered to back six strong innings from Jonathan Cannon as the host Chicago White Sox defeated the Houston Astros 7-3 on Friday in the opener of a three-game set.

Houston rallied to within one run on Yainer Diaz's solo homer against Jordan Leasure in the eighth, but Chicago added three insurance runs in the bottom half, including RBI hits from Jacob Amaya and Michael A. Taylor.

Cam Booser pitched a scoreless ninth to help the White Sox win consecutive games for just the second time this season.

The Astros finished 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position. Diaz went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs and Jake Meyers added a pair of hits and an RBI.

Cannon (2-3) won his second straight start. He scattered two runs on nine hits while striking out five.

Chase Meidroth contributed a pair of hits and an RBI for the White Sox.

Quero, the White Sox catcher who erased Jose Altuve on a caught stealing in the top of the first, opened the scoring with an RBI double in the bottom half. Robert Jr. was cut down at the plate trying to score on the play, as Altuve earned the first outfield assist of his major league career.

Meidroth added a run-scoring single in the second inning to extend the Chicago advantage to 2-0. The Astros got a run back on a Diaz RBI double in the fourth.

Chicago added a pair of runs in the fifth on a solo blast from Robert, his fifth homer of the season, and a Quero RBI single.

Astros left-hander Framber Valdez (1-4) allowed four runs on seven hits in five innings with two walks and six strikeouts. Valdez has lost three of his past four decisions.

The White Sox won a series opener for the first time since April 11 against the visiting Boston Red Sox, which propelled the team to its only series victory of the season.