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TORONTO — The Chicago White Sox already had scored twice in the second inning Friday against the Toronto Blue Jays.
And with Braden Montgomery on third base with two outs, they were looking for more.
Chase Meidroth came through with a single to center field. Sam Antonacci followed with a two-run home run to right.
How active will the Chicago White Sox be at the trade deadline? 3 questions facing the team in the 2nd half.
Just like that, a two-run lead ballooned to five.
“We found some holes there in the second inning, and then the big homer by Antonacci,” manager Will Venable said. “But really good job up and down the lineup by putting good at-bats together. Just the collective effort offensively was great.”
The Sox got right back into a rhythm after the All-Star break, defeating the Blue Jays 12-4 in front of a sellout crowd of 41,895 at Rogers Centre.
“Slugging and scoring runs is a big part of our identity, so to come out and do that means a lot,” Venable said. “These guys had a good break there where they were able to rest, but were able to come back ready to go.”
Antonacci had two hits in the win, the fourth straight for the Sox. The rookie homered in consecutive games for the first time in his career. He has six home runs over his last 25 games.
Every batter in the Sox starting lineup had at least one hit.
“Definitely an energized offense tonight,” Antonacci said. “Just excited to be back to work. Nice few days off, but we’ve got goals in mind and they’re not going to be achieved just by sitting around.”
With the win, the Sox (51-45) regained sole possession of first place in the American League Central. They have a half-game lead over the Cleveland Guardians (51-46), whose game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday was postponed because of poor air quality caused by wildfires.
The Sox are a season-high-tying six games over .500. They have won five consecutive against the Blue Jays dating to last season, their longest streak since six straight in 2015-16.
The Sox won Friday despite surrendering three home runs. Starter Anthony Kay allowed two runs — including a solo shot to Luis Urías — on two hits in four innings. He struck out five, walked three and hit two batters in the 83-pitch outing.
“I just felt off command-wise, just didn’t have my best stuff,” Kay said. “When the offense puts up five, you want to go longer than four innings. But to only get away with two was a plus, but we’re going to have to figure out what mechanically, whatever it was.”
The home run cut the Sox lead to 5-2 in the fourth inning. Colson Montgomery extended it to 8-2 with a three-run double to left-center in the fifth.
Solo home runs by George Springer and Brandon Valenzuela against Sox reliever Trevor Richards brought the Blue Jays within 8-4 after six innings.
The Sox responded with another big bases-loaded hit in the seventh. This time it was Braden Montgomery who knocked in three runs with a triple, increasing the Sox lead to 11-4. Montgomery then scored on a Tristan Peters sacrifice fly.
“The team that wins is the one that puts up the most runs, so when you’ve got a chance to put up runs, you’ve got to execute,” Braden Montgomery said.
He finished with four RBIs. According to STATS, Montgomery is the fourth rookie in White Sox history to record four-plus RBIs in consecutive games, joining Bill Cassell (July 14, 1928 doubleheader), Alexei Ramírez (Aug. 17-18, 2008) and Eloy Jiménez (Sept. 10-11, 2019).
“He’s a grinder and worker and he’s finding his way here in the early going of his big-league career,” Venable said.
Reliever Tyler Schweitzer allowed one hit over three scoreless innings to wrap up the game and pick up the win.
“Really impressive stuff,” Venable said of Schweitzer. “To get the coverage is one thing, but to get the quality is another thing.”
From a team perspective, Braden Montgomery said it was “super important” for the Sox to come out strong following the break.
“Especially in front of a crowd like that in a stadium like this,” Montgomery said. “We know we’ve had to pick it up on the road. And so that’s a good start to the second half. And we plan on keeping it rolling.”
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And with Braden Montgomery on third base with two outs, they were looking for more.
Chase Meidroth came through with a single to center field. Sam Antonacci followed with a two-run home run to right.
How active will the Chicago White Sox be at the trade deadline? 3 questions facing the team in the 2nd half.
Just like that, a two-run lead ballooned to five.
“We found some holes there in the second inning, and then the big homer by Antonacci,” manager Will Venable said. “But really good job up and down the lineup by putting good at-bats together. Just the collective effort offensively was great.”
The Sox got right back into a rhythm after the All-Star break, defeating the Blue Jays 12-4 in front of a sellout crowd of 41,895 at Rogers Centre.
“Slugging and scoring runs is a big part of our identity, so to come out and do that means a lot,” Venable said. “These guys had a good break there where they were able to rest, but were able to come back ready to go.”
Antonacci had two hits in the win, the fourth straight for the Sox. The rookie homered in consecutive games for the first time in his career. He has six home runs over his last 25 games.
Every batter in the Sox starting lineup had at least one hit.
“Definitely an energized offense tonight,” Antonacci said. “Just excited to be back to work. Nice few days off, but we’ve got goals in mind and they’re not going to be achieved just by sitting around.”
With the win, the Sox (51-45) regained sole possession of first place in the American League Central. They have a half-game lead over the Cleveland Guardians (51-46), whose game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday was postponed because of poor air quality caused by wildfires.
The Sox are a season-high-tying six games over .500. They have won five consecutive against the Blue Jays dating to last season, their longest streak since six straight in 2015-16.
The Sox won Friday despite surrendering three home runs. Starter Anthony Kay allowed two runs — including a solo shot to Luis Urías — on two hits in four innings. He struck out five, walked three and hit two batters in the 83-pitch outing.
“I just felt off command-wise, just didn’t have my best stuff,” Kay said. “When the offense puts up five, you want to go longer than four innings. But to only get away with two was a plus, but we’re going to have to figure out what mechanically, whatever it was.”
The home run cut the Sox lead to 5-2 in the fourth inning. Colson Montgomery extended it to 8-2 with a three-run double to left-center in the fifth.
Solo home runs by George Springer and Brandon Valenzuela against Sox reliever Trevor Richards brought the Blue Jays within 8-4 after six innings.
The Sox responded with another big bases-loaded hit in the seventh. This time it was Braden Montgomery who knocked in three runs with a triple, increasing the Sox lead to 11-4. Montgomery then scored on a Tristan Peters sacrifice fly.
“The team that wins is the one that puts up the most runs, so when you’ve got a chance to put up runs, you’ve got to execute,” Braden Montgomery said.
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He finished with four RBIs. According to STATS, Montgomery is the fourth rookie in White Sox history to record four-plus RBIs in consecutive games, joining Bill Cassell (July 14, 1928 doubleheader), Alexei Ramírez (Aug. 17-18, 2008) and Eloy Jiménez (Sept. 10-11, 2019).
“He’s a grinder and worker and he’s finding his way here in the early going of his big-league career,” Venable said.
Reliever Tyler Schweitzer allowed one hit over three scoreless innings to wrap up the game and pick up the win.
“Really impressive stuff,” Venable said of Schweitzer. “To get the coverage is one thing, but to get the quality is another thing.”
From a team perspective, Braden Montgomery said it was “super important” for the Sox to come out strong following the break.
“Especially in front of a crowd like that in a stadium like this,” Montgomery said. “We know we’ve had to pick it up on the road. And so that’s a good start to the second half. And we plan on keeping it rolling.”
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