Randal Grichuk and Brenton Doyle smacked two-run home runs and Anthony Kay pitched five strong innings to boost the host Chicago White Sox to a 4-2 victory against the Colorado Rockies on Sunday to close the regular season.
The White Sox (84-78) are set to visit the American League West champion, either Houston or Texas, on Tuesday in the opener of an AL wild-card series.
Chicago on Thursday clinched its first playoff berth since 2021 but was eliminated from contention for an AL Central title with Saturday’s loss to Colorado and a Cleveland victory at Kansas City.
Colorado (58-104) finished with 100 losses for the fourth successive season. Chicago accomplished that dubious feat for three consecutive campaigns, including a major-league record 121 defeats in 2024, before regrouping this season.
Colorado had baserunners in each of its five times at bat against Kay but only managed one run. The Rockies took a 1-0 lead in the third. Jordan Beck and Ezequiel Tovar singled to open the inning and advanced on a sacrifice bunt before Connor Norby hit an RBI sacrifice fly to score Beck.
The White Sox grabbed the lead in the bottom half. Grichuk drove a two-run shot to left field against Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland while Doyle connected three batters later to put Chicago ahead 4-1.
Cole Carrigg reached Chicago reliever Trevor Richards for a solo homer with two out in the eighth.
Freeland fell to 4-12 after pitching four innings of seven-hit, four-run ball with one hit batter and two strikeouts. He retired the first four Chicago hitters but struggled after that, finishing the season with a 6.65 ERA in 26 starts
Kay (10-9) gave up one run and five hits in five innings with two walks and four strikeouts. His 10 victories extended a career high after Kay dealt with injuries and inconsistency during the first part of his career. He pitched in Japan the past two seasons before signing with the White Sox in December.
Sam Antonacci had two hits for the White Sox, who finished 48-33 at Rate Field. The Rockies had 55 road losses compared to 49 at home.
–Field Level Media
