Rookie shortstop Colson Montgomery’s deli order Saturday night?
One salami, please.
Montgomery flexed his power with a second-inning grand slam, the biggest bop in the White Sox’ 7-3 victory over the Twins.
The Sox have been racking up the runs of late with 37 in their last five games.
Montgomery’s power display continues to impress as he keeps looking like a cornerstone in general manager Chris Getz’s rebuilding project.
“I’ve always had some juice growing up, and now I’m finally growing into my body and understanding my swing,” Montgomery said. “And that’s what it comes down to the most, using your whole body with swings.
“I would say, yeah, I’ve been a power hitter my whole life.”
The slam was Montgomery’s 12th homer, all coming in his last 27 games. He’s five homers behind infielder Lenyn Sosa for the team lead, something he seems capable of accomplishing by season’s end.
Montgomery is 4-for-9 with two homers in his last two games to break out of a funk that saw him bat only .143 in his previous 14 games.
It’s all part of the ongoing development for a young player, an introduction to the major-league chess match of dueling adjustments between pitchers and hitters.
“It can be frustrating and aggravating just because you want to go up there and try to make a difference in a game,’’ Montgomery said. ‘‘And sometimes you might not get pitches to do that on. I’ll admit it; I was trying to do too much, swinging at pitches I haven’t really been swinging at. You kind of have to just be patient and really just assess and adjust to what they’re doing.
“And after that, you go boom.”
Launched by Luis
Luis Robert Jr. also went boom, lasering his 14th homer at more than 111 mph.
Robert’s struggles last year and over the first three months this season were well-documented and shifted how some thought of a onetime MVP-type player.
But lately, he has looked a lot more like the player that was expected, batting .306 with six homers and 21 RBI since the start of July, to go along with a season’s worth of elite base-running (33 steals) and defensive play.
“He’s still Luis Robert, man,” starting pitcher Davis Martin said. “He’s still the best player I’ve ever played with. It’s fun to see him loosen up and be a focal point.”