RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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CHICAGO — The Chicago White Sox wouldn’t be where they are without Munetaka Murakami and Colson Montgomery.
But to get to where they want to go, they’re going to need a lot more consistency from those two sluggers down the stretch.
Entering Monday’s three-game series with the Texas Rangers — the Sox lost the first game, 11-2 — they had a 3 1/2 game lead over the Cleveland Guardians in the American League Central and remained in the No. 2 spot in the AL seeding thanks to the subpar showing of the AL West teams.
The Rangers and Houston Astros were tied entering Monday with records of 65-66, and chances are good the Sox could meet one of them in the AL Division Series. The Sox can’t overlook any team, obviously, but neither the Rangers, Astros nor Toronto Blue Jays would be considered a major obstacle in a best-of-five series.
Everything is breaking the Sox way so far, and their playoff chances are greatly enhanced by the likelihood of avoiding an AL East team until the AL Championship Series. They’re in the fight to the finish, and their fans appear to be joining in … if Sunday’s upper deck brawl at Rate Field is any indication.
General manager Chris Getz believes this Sox team can do some damage in the postseason, even with holes in the rotation and behind the plate.
Of course, they have to get there first, and that’s why the Sox need their best players to start hitting like they can. With 31 games remaining after Monday, patience is not a viable option.
Murakami and Montgomery both have been struggling since the All-Star break. Montgomery was hitting .194 with a major-league-worst 39.1% strikeout rate since the break, while Murakami was hitting .208 with a 33.3% strikeout rate over that span.
In Monday’s loss, each struck out three times. Murakami went 1 for 4 with an infield single, while Montgomery followed his trio of strikeouts with a pop foul in the ninth.
The Sox have managed to maintain their slim lead without their two big guns performing, but it’s put more pressure on the starting pitching, which is another issue altogether.
Manager Will Venable said Monday that Murakami’s “expectations are high and obviously you know you are not always going to be in that (power) mode.”
“It’s about making good swing decisions and getting good swings off in the zone,” he said. “Sometimes you swing-and-miss. Sometimes you roll them over. In the case of Mune, he has taken some really good swings and is making some good swing decisions. He’s still drawing walks. We haven’t seen him necessarily click on balls going out of the park like we are used to, had a couple of balls in that series that just didn’t go out.
“In the case of Colson, it’s just the timing with him. He had a really good series in Wrigley and we’ve seen him hit some balls hard. He just missed the ball foul with the bases loaded the other day … I don’t think these guys are that far off. They are continuing to work on contact in the zone, making good swing decisions, the damage is always going to be in there.”
Strikeouts come with the territory, but Montgomery’s 177 Ks entering Monday were tied for second-worst in the majors. In August, Montgomery’s 37 strikeouts were the league’s worst, and he had only two home runs. Murakami’s 35 strikeouts were second-worst, and he had five home runs.
I wondered if Venable would consider giving Montgomery a mental break to try and get him out of his strikeout binge.
“That’s something that’s always on the table as a solution for guys,” Venable said. “I just don’t think we’re there yet with him, or we’re going to get there with him. First of all, he went through this really tough stretch and he had some really good swings on our last road trip. I get the question and the bigger body of work maybe recently. But right now I think he’s in a good spot.
“Sometimes I think a mental reset is good. Just the other day I was complimenting Colson on the way he’s continued to carry himself even when he’s not feeling his best and feels like he’s underperforming and obviously coming short of the expectations we all have for him. So I thought he’s handled it great and has given me no indications that he needs a mental break.”
Venable knows his players well, so you have to give him the benefit of the doubt that Montgomery will snap out of it. But it sure doesn’t look like Montgomery has stopped chasing. His whiff percentage on breaking balls is 45.3%, according to Statcast, so if he’s behind in the count, you usually know what’s coming.
Luisangel Acuña is Montgomery’s replacement at short, so that’s not a great option. But Venable could temporarily move Chase Meidroth from second base to short, move Sam Antonacci from left field to second and give veteran Randal Grichuk more at-bats in left. It might not be a perfect solution, but it could give Montgomery a chance to work on his timing to get back to being the hitter the Sox know he can be.
If this were 2025 and the Sox were out of contention, it would be a different story.
But this has been a special season, and to have a memorable ending, they’ll need everyone playing up to their capabilities.
Venable has already shown he has a lot of patience. Getz proved his patience level in April when he sent opening-day starter Shane Smith back to Triple-A Charlotte after only three starts.
As September nears, it’s going to be interesting to see how the Sox brain trust reacts. No one expected the Sox to be in this position.
But now that they’re here, there’s no turning back.
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