DETROIT -- Ahhh, sweet relief. After all the bangups, matchups, travel and delays, the White Sox are finally free to kick up their feet.
And let’s be honest: They’ve earned it.
Monday brings an off-day that required running quite a gauntlet to reach. Not only did Chicago claim a series win at Comerica Park after Sunday’s 6-4 victory over the Tigers, it went 10-7 during its unenviable stretch of 17 games in 17 days.
The White Sox (55-89) still need to finish at least 8-10 down the stretch to avoid a third consecutive 100-loss season. Whether they will avoid that notorious milestone is anyone’s guess, but here are four factors working in their favor:
1) They’re not out of magic
While Spencer Torkelson was taking a moment to admire his home run in the bottom of the sixth, Will Robertson was busy changing the narrative. Chicago’s left fielder sprinted 113 feet to the wall in front of the 342-foot marker, skied high enough that his shoulders cleared the yellow piping and brought Torkelson’s ball back into the park, sno-cone style.
“Obviously, it's my run, so I'm super into it,” said starter Davis Martin, who threw his arms skyward in appreciation and doffed his cap. “But to look and see [Mike] Tauchman doing the same celebration in right field, it just shows how great a play that was; how athletic a play that was.”
Beyond dominating highlight reels for days to come, Robertson’s hops kept the White Sox within striking distance, 4-3. That was crucial in allowing Robertson to tie the game with a two-out single to right in the seventh.
2) They just don’t quit
Chicago lost the lead twice, but if you think the White Sox responded like a team approaching 100 losses, you’d be mistaken. The South Siders battled back both times before taking the lead for good on Lenyn Sosa’s two-run single in the eighth.
Chicago also went ahead twice and lost the lead both times in the opener before Andrew Benintendi’s homer ultimately extended its win streak.
Need more proof that this club refuses to roll over? How about the bone-jarring collision between Shane Smith and Kyle Teel on Friday? The batterymates went after a wild pitch that ended in a full-speed crash, with Teel’s helmet meeting Smith’s jaw and the men tumbling to the ground.
Neither was seriously injured, leaving Teel to quip, “That was one of the biggest humans I’ve ever been hit by, including high school football.”
Smith rebounded to strike out Dillon Dingler, then worked a 1-2-3 fifth.
“That was the plan for today,” Smith responded when asked how he shook off the impact so quickly. “Get through five. And I didn’t want to let [the collision] get in the way.”
3) The rookies are raking
Colson Montgomery, anyone? The shortstop has 53 MLB games under his belt, and he’s already drawn praise from at least one veteran for his bat. Montgomery has 18 homers this season and eight in his past 14 games, including one during his four-RBI night Friday.
To put Montgomery’s hot start into perspective, consider this: Hall of Famer Frank Thomas didn’t hit his 18th homer until his 145th game.
“I just think things are kind of trending in a different direction,” Montgomery said. “We've seen that we can make an impact off one swing.”
Let’s also not forget Teel (.295), Edgar Quero (.310) and Chase Meidroth (.309) who have been on fire since the start of August. Meidroth, who finished 2-for-3 in the finale, singled in the fourth inning to become the first Sox rookie with 100 hits since Eloy Jiménez in 2019.
4) They’re trending up
Chicago entered the finale with a .265 average and 71 homers after the All-Star break, each third best in the AL. Having bested last season’s wins total on Aug. 2, anything more could obviously be labeled an improvement.
But these Sox aren’t content with limping through the remainder of their schedule. They’re ready to rest Monday and begin emptying the can all over again come Tuesday.
“I think the thing that stands out for me is that it's been such a collective effort,” manager Will Venable said. “... Just that type of play coming from all parts of our roster is how you string together six wins in a row. These guys have been working toward that all year.
“They’ve done a great job, and [I’m] just really proud of how they're connected out there and playing for each other.”