After coming up with perhaps the biggest hit of the year for the Chicago White Sox, veteran Randal Grichuk said his team could move beyond a September slump and win the American League Central title.
Grichuk’s go-ahead, two-run home run with the visiting White Sox down to their last strike in the ninth inning Saturday helped them stop a four-game losing streak, add to their division lead, and put them in position to win the three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday afternoon.
The White Sox (76-72) had lost nine of their past 12 games, and their 5 1/2-game division lead in mid-August had shrunk to a half-game — until Grichuk’s heroics and a loss by the second-place Cleveland Guardians on Saturday.
The White Sox will head to Cleveland on Monday for a crucial three-game series that will help to decide the division winner. But for now, Chicago can exhale briefly with 14 games to go in the regular season after their comeback victory on Saturday.
“Huge,” Grichuk said. “Obviously it’s getting late in the year and everything matters, so hopefully now we can keep playing our game and get to a lot better place.”
The White Sox are in a much better place than in the past three seasons, all of which ended with at least 100 losses, including a record 121 two years ago.
Grichuk, who just turned 35 having played parts of 13 seasons in the majors, has been a key addition after signing as a free agent in early May. He’s batting .286 with a .568 slugging percentage, fueled by 13 homers and 23 doubles in 238 plate appearances overall.
The New York Yankees cut Grichuk a month into the season after signing him late in spring training. He got off to a slow start, batting just .194, and the Yankees’ move proved to be fortuitous for the White Sox. Teammates praise Grichuk for not only fitting in but also leading the way.
“Never count him out,” catcher Kyle Teel said. “A leader of this team. He’s always getting the job done.”
Grichuk’s home run against Cardinals closer Riley O’Brien came on a 1-2 pitch — a sinker on the outer half that wasn’t at top velocity and caught too much of the plate. Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol implied that a breaking ball in the dirt would have been a better approach.
“There’s different ways of attacking that one,” he said.
Grichuk said he suspected a wipeout sweeper but also was prepared for what he got.
He’ll take it. So will the White Sox.
“It was something that we really needed,” Grichuk said.
The Cardinals (73-76) are close to being eliminated from the National League wild-card race as they start Sunday 7 1/2 games out of the final spot. But they are excited by the recent contributions of young players such as rookie catcher Leo Bernal, whose tie-breaking homer in the eighth against Grant Taylor put them in position to win on Saturday.
“That would have been a cool moment,” Marmol said. “I wish we would have been able to keep the lead and shake hands and get the hell out of here.”
Bernal has three homers and is hitting .311 in 11 games since making his major league debut.
Right-hander Michael McGreevy (6-9, 3.92 ERA) will start for the Cardinals on Sunday. He has a 6.26 ERA in nine starts since late July and is 1-2 in that span.
McGreevy has faced the White Sox once in his career, on June 19, 2025, when he allowed a run, three hits and a walk to go with five strikeouts over five innings. He did not get a decision in the 8-6, 10-inning win.
The White Sox haven’t yet named a starting pitcher for Sunday’s game, but right-hander Sean Burke (8-7, 3.58 ERA) was due to pitch. The White Sox appear to be sorting out their rotation heading into the series vs. the Guardians.
–Field Level Media
