Eight Runs Weren't Enough Until Colson Montgomery Took One More Swing

WASHINGTON: The Chicago White Sox had built an 8–1 lead Friday night.

By the bottom of the eighth inning, they were trailing 9–8.

A game that had appeared comfortably under control had become another potential disaster during a difficult season.

Then Colson Montgomery stepped to the plate.

The rookie shortstop launched a go-ahead home run, helping Chicago defeat the Washington Nationals 10–9 at Nationals Park and end a five-game losing streak.

The victory was not clean.

It was not reassuring defensively.

And it offered little evidence that Chicago had suddenly solved the problems responsible for its disappointing record.

But it did provide another example of Montgomery's growing importance to the organization.

The White Sox had given away nearly everything they built.

Their rookie supplied another chance to win.

Chicago builds what looks like a decisive lead

The White Sox established control during the opening five innings.

Lenyn Sosa led the offense, collecting three hits and driving in three runs.

He finished a triple shy of the cycle.

Chicago led 8–1 through the top of the fifth.

That advantage should have forced Washington into an extremely difficult comeback assignment.

The Nationals needed seven runs merely to tie the game.

The White Sox, meanwhile, needed to continue generating outs and avoid the kind of extended inning that could allow the opponent to rebuild momentum.

But Washington began reducing the margin.

The Nationals moved within 8–5, demonstrating that the early advantage was not as secure as it appeared.

The game entered the eighth with Chicago still ahead.

The White Sox needed their bullpen to protect the lead.

A dependable reliever finally breaks

Jordan Leasure entered the game having produced an exceptional stretch of relief pitching.

The right-hander had not allowed a run in his previous 14 innings, dating to August 26.

Opponents were batting just .048 against him during that period, collecting two hits in 42 at-bats.

Those numbers made Leasure an understandable choice to protect the late lead.

But baseball does not preserve a pitcher's previous results when a new inning begins.

Washington began collecting hits.

The Nationals produced three hits and four runs against Leasure over five batters.

Luis García Jr. delivered the decisive blow of the inning, hitting a home run that moved Washington ahead 9–8.

A seven-run Chicago advantage had disappeared.

The White Sox were now three outs from losing a game they had once controlled by an overwhelming margin.

Montgomery has another answer

Montgomery's rookie season had already produced memorable power.

He had launched long home runs, demonstrated an ability to attack major league pitching and created optimism about Chicago's future at shortstop.

Friday presented a different challenge.

The White Sox did not need Montgomery to add another impressive individual statistic during a comfortable win.

They needed him to rescue a game that had suddenly become a defeat.

He delivered the go-ahead home run.

Chicago moved back in front and ultimately secured the 10–9 victory.

The sequence was especially important because it demonstrated the effect one hitter can have on an entire team's result.

Montgomery did not prevent the bullpen collapse.

He did not erase the problems that allowed Washington to score eight runs after trailing 8–1.

But he created a new opportunity.

And Chicago was able to finish.

A victory that exposes as much as it celebrates

The White Sox ended their five-game losing streak.

That result mattered.

So did Sosa's productive offensive performance and Montgomery's decisive swing.

But the manner of victory presents legitimate concerns.

A team that builds a seven-run lead must find a way to protect it more comfortably.

Chicago's bullpen had repeatedly faced difficult assignments throughout the season, and Friday exposed the risk of relying on one reliever to preserve momentum when an opponent begins generating consecutive baserunners.

Leasure's strong prior performance made his difficult inning particularly surprising.

Yet the result reinforced how quickly even effective relief pitching can become vulnerable.

What Montgomery is proving

For Chicago's rebuilding process, the most encouraging development remains Montgomery's offensive progression.

He is demonstrating power against major league pitching.

He is also delivering in situations when the team needs a decisive contribution.

Those are different achievements.

A hitter can produce impressive statistics during games whose outcomes are already effectively settled.

Delivering a go-ahead home run after a team has surrendered a seven-run lead requires another level of execution under pressure.

Montgomery did that Friday.

The White Sox still have substantial questions about their pitching, roster depth and ability to sustain winning baseball.

One dramatic victory does not resolve them.

But the organization has another performance to examine when evaluating one of its most promising young players.

Chicago was ahead 8–1.

Then it was behind 9–8.

Montgomery made certain that neither score would be final.