2 hits for Colson Montgomery as Sox drop series finale to Rockies
DENVER — The White Sox lost Sunday’s battle against the Rockies, but won the weekend war of the worst teams in Major League Baseball.
All-Star pitcher Shane Smith served up a 421-foot leadoff home run to Rockies’ center fielder Mickey Moniak, who later tagged him for a two-run triple as the lowly teams swapped leads three times on a hot afternoon at Coors Field.
It was a promising but mixed bag for rookie shortstop Colson Montgomery, who continued a hot streak to open his career with a single in the second inning.
He also drew a walk in the fourth inning and advanced to second on a Rockies error before being doubled off second on an Edgar Quero lineout.
And he notched his second career RBI with a one-out single in the fifth — but promptly got picked off first by Colorado reliever Zach Agnos. He struck out in the eighth.
It was a decent afternoon for other cogs of the Sox’ youth movement, too, as a Chase Meidroth grounder caromed off second base for a double to score Quero in the third inning.
The Sox (30-60) had locked up their ninth series win of the season a night earlier. Last year’s historically bad Sox squad won nine series all year — and the Rockies (21-69) are still outpacing them toward the bottom of the history book.
Taylor nailing it down
Rookie flame-thrower Grant Taylor’s triple-digit velocity is his strongest asset. But the rookie right-hander showed his short memory could be valuable too.
Taylor bounced back from a rough outing last week against the Dodgers to notch his third save of the season Friday, giving him the team lead in that category less than a month after being called up from Double-A.
The 2023 draft pick, who played at LSU with current Pittsburgh ace Paul Skenes, had started six games in Birmingham, but he’s embracing the back end of the bullpen.
“The phone rings, you hear your name, and it's your save opportunity — that adrenaline rush is just insane,” Taylor said.
Colorado convalescence
Injured starter Davis Martin said he was “feeling as good as I’ve felt in a long time” after throwing a 31-pitch bullpen session Sunday.
He’ll meet the Triple-A Charlotte Knights in Memphis this week for a rehab start and hopes to rejoin the big league rotation after the All-Star break. A forearm strain has kept Martin (2-7, 3.79 ERA) out of action since June 12.
Centerfielder Luis Robert Jr. is nearing a return as well after another pre-game round of fielding practice in his recovery from a hamstring injury. He’s missed nine games.
“He's felt really good. I think he got up over 90% of his max speed, so I'm expecting him to have another good day and push it,” manager Will Venable said.