White Sox Power Past Mets as Montgomery, Rogers Star in Comeback Win

CHICAGO — The Chicago White Sox erased a four-run deficit with a sudden burst of power, then walked off the New York Mets 6-4 on Friday night behind Jake Rogers' two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Trailing 4-0 in the sixth, the White Sox tied the game on three consecutive home runs off Mets starter Sean Manaea. Miguel Vargas started the barrage with a homer to left, Randal Grichuk followed with a 400-foot blast to center, and Colson Montgomery completed the trifecta with a shot to right.

Montgomery, who had gone 1-for-3 with a walk and scored once, said he stuck to his approach after watching his teammates go deep.

"It’s the same thing — I’m not really thinking 'try to hit a home run' or anything like that," Montgomery said. "You feel pressure to, because they go back to back. The fans are getting electric. It’s one of those situations where you can definitely get out of your plan and your approach."

Francisco Lindor and A.J. Ewing had two hits apiece for the Mets, who led 4-0 after five innings. New York had scored four runs in the fifth, but Manaea couldn't hold the lead, allowing five runs on seven hits with three walks and five strikeouts over 5⅓ innings.

Jefry Yan took the loss, allowing Rogers' walk-off shot with two outs in the ninth.

The loss tempered some of the momentum for the Mets, who had won five of six on their just-completed homestand. They now sit at 58-71 on the season.

Montgomery's Resurgence

Montgomery, who entered the year as the White Sox's top prospect, is hitting .209 since the All-Star break but has turned things around at the plate, going 8-for-21 (.381) with a home run and four RBIs in his last six games.

White Sox manager Will Venable believes the 23-year-old is finally settling in.

"He's turned the corner the last week or so," Venable said. "He's having better at-bats, seeing the ball well, and the results are starting to show."

Montgomery, who said he tried to stay calm and stick to his approach after watching the back-to-back homers, added that his early at-bats gave him confidence.

"The first swing (of the at-bat), I thought was a really good swing and it was a tough pitch," he said. "I felt like if he threw it anywhere similar I wasn’t going to miss it. I felt like I had pretty good at-bats the whole night, good swings."

The White Sox, who rank second in the American League in home runs (171) and slugging percentage (.409) entering Saturday, improved to 67-61 and maintained their 4.5-game lead in the AL Central.

Pitching Matchup Set for Saturday

The Mets will look to bounce back Saturday at 7:10 p.m. at Rate Field. Right-hander Christian Scott takes the mound for New York, coming off his fourth win of the season after allowing three earned runs on five hits over 6⅓ innings against the Nationals. He enters with a 4-3 record, 3.51 ERA and 1.29 WHIP.

The White Sox will counter with right-hander Luis Castillo, who makes his fourth start since being acquired at the trade deadline. Castillo is 4-9 with a 4.99 ERA and 102 strikeouts in 115⅓ innings between the Mariners and White Sox this season.

In injury news, the White Sox announced that top prospect Roch Cholowsky will miss the remainder of the season with right wrist soreness. Cholowsky, the No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft, went 6-for-36 (.167) with seven walks and three stolen bases in nine games for High-A Winston-Salem.

Additionally, 2025 first-round pick Billy Carlson is out for the season with a skin infection on his left leg. Carlson, who played for Class-A Kannapolis, batted .256 with 13 doubles and 20 RBIs in 57 games.