With a spot in the American League playoffs assured but seeding still to be determined, the Chicago White Sox realize they only can concern themselves with what they can control.
Wins in five of the past six games entering Saturday night’s visit from the Colorado Rockies show that Chicago is surging as the regular season concludes.
Right now, that’s enough.
“Just looking to keep this continuing for the next two days and roll into October,” White Sox right-hander Sean Burke said.
Burke pitched 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball and Munetaka Murakami had two solo home runs among his three hits and three RBIs to spark the White Sox to a 6-1 victory against Colorado in Friday’s series opener.
Chicago (83-77) remains one game behind the AL Central-leading Guardians after Cleveland’s 12-9 win in Kansas City on Friday. The White Sox hold the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Guardians. One of the teams will win the division; the other will head to the AL wild-card round.
White Sox leadoff man Sam Antonacci helped keep the attack churning with a three-hit game, and fellow rookie Braden Montgomery added two hits and two runs.
Montgomery has three straight multi-hit games and four overall during a six-game hitting streak in which he is 11-for-23 (.478).
Murakami’s first multi-homer game since July 26, meanwhile, gave him a club-high 35 home runs.
“Right now, being at-bat, I’m feeling great, feeling comfortable out there,” Murakami said through an interpreter. “So I’m doing really good.”
On the bad side, Chicago shortstop Colson Montgomery on Friday broke Mark Reynolds’ single-season MLB record for strikeouts. Montgomery has 224; Reynolds had 223 with Arizona in 2009.
Colorado (57-103) managed just four hits in losing its fifth straight game. TJ Rumfield smacked a solo home run as part of a two-hit night, and Ezequiel Tovar doubled.
The Rockies, who have the worst record in the majors, will turn to left-hander Jose Quintana as he tries to play havoc on his former team’s bid for a division crown.
Quintana (2-3, 5.40 ERA) has made just 10 starts in his first season with Colorado amid injuries to his right hamstring and left elbow.
“I think he would have had a good year if he would have stayed healthy,” Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said.
Quintana was a mainstay in the White Sox rotation from 2012 until he was traded in the middle of the 2017 season, going 50-54 with a 3.51 ERA in 172 appearances (169 starts).
Facing the visiting Seattle Mariners last Saturday, Quintana took a no-decision in a 5-3 win after permitting three runs and five hits in four innings. He walked one and struck out two while throwing 70 pitches in his first appearance since May 24.
Quintana is 1-2 with a 4.24 ERA in four appearances and three starts vs. the White Sox, with 19 strikeouts in 17 innings.
Right-hander Davis Martin will start for the White Sox on Saturday as he faces the Rockies for the first time.
While he remains in search of his first victory since June 10, Martin (9-7, 3.84 ERA) has pitched effectively down the stretch. He’s 0-1 with an 0.89 ERA in four September starts covering 20 1/3 innings.
Martin is coming off a no-decision on Sunday against Detroit. He allowed three hits over 4 1/3 scoreless innings with two walks and a hit batter in Chicago’s 8-1 win. Martin’s six strikeouts were his most since July 29.
–Field Level Media
