WASHINGTON — The White Sox‘ season-closing series this weekend at Washington pits baseball’s second- and third-worst teams against each other, respectively, and it looked like it in Friday’s opener.
The Sox were shaping up for one of their ugliest losses of the season after blowing a seven-run lead, until rookie sensation Colson Montgomery bailed out a leaky bullpen with a ninth-inning, go-ahead two-run home run to help his team salvage a 10-9 win over the Nationals.
The visitors jumped ahead 8-1 by the top of the fifth inning behind the might of Lenyn Sosa, who put another exclamation mark on his his breakout offensive season with a 3-for-4, three-RBI night, launching his team-leading 22nd home run of the season while falling a triple shy of the cycle.
But Sox starter Yoendrys Gomez and reliever Jordan Leasure combined to surrender six home runs, including three to Nats’ second baseman Luis Garcia.
“I just missed a couple pitches, and at this level, when you do that, you’re gonna pay for it,” Gomez said.
The Sox trailed 9-8 with one out in the ninth when Kyle Teel reached on the Nats’ fourth error of the night, before Montgomery slammed his 20th homer of the season.
COLSON 👏 MONTGOMERY 👏 pic.twitter.com/8sC45dedJR
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) September 27, 2025
“Sometimes in those situations it kind of calms you down, you try to do one job. Put the ball forward, keep the train rolling for the guys behind us,” the rookie shortstop said. “So, it’s sick.”
Rookie reliever Grant Taylor shut it down for his sixth career save. “It was kind of a roller coaster game,” he said.
The win snapped a five-game losing streak and guaranteed the Sox’ latest dismal rebuilding season can’t surpass 103 losses.
“These guys just continued to fight,” manager Will Venable said. “We hear the chatter in the dugout, the things they are saying. You can feel the energy. There was no letup at all that whole game, even after some zeroes there and they take the lead.”