MINNEAPOLIS — The highest-scoring offense in the American League has been putting up runs lately without much help from two of its biggest sluggers.
The White Sox got a three-run home run from shortstop Colson Montgomery in their series opener against the Twins, but he couldn’t get much else going in Minneapolis as he tries to claw his way out of a monthlong funk. He has a .186/.252/.309 slash line and 46 strikeouts in August.
Rookie first baseman Munetaka Murakami hasn’t fared any better, slashing .150/.292/.350 for the month with 45 strikeouts and an 11-game homer drought that he’ll carry to Houston.
‘‘With Mune, we can’t forget all the new that goes into it,’’ Sox hitting director Ryan Fuller said. ‘‘His first year [in the majors]. It’s August; we’re closing in on September. There’s a lot that goes into it, and we know the preparation with Mune is always there. Always good at-bats, and the work that he’s putting in in the cage is great. So it’s only a matter of time before he gets back to doing what he’s going to do.’’
Fuller has been down this road before with Montgomery, following a midseason sabbatical last season in Arizona to help him rediscover his stroke.
‘‘A lot of guys have ebbs and flows in that sophomore year, and he’s doing a good job of maintaining and understanding what he needs to do to be successful,’’ Fuller said. ‘‘Looking forward to having him be a contributing factor down the stretch because we know he can be a game-changer.’’
Montgomery said it feels as though he’s turning a corner.
‘‘The past couple of games, my decision-making and my process and approach at the plate have been a little more consistent,’’ he said. ‘‘I should be driving in more runs or just a little better situational hitting. But I don’t know. It’s just baseball, you know?’’
Colson Montgomery sent that one outta here! 🚀 pic.twitter.com/h7gcDIT2Hb
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) August 29, 2026
Between them in the heart of the order has been third baseman Miguel Vargas’ remarkably consistent bat. He has a .961 OPS in August and a hitting approach that’s marking all the organizational boxes of decisions, contact and damage.
‘‘For ‘Vargy’ in the past, it was great decisions, good contact, damage a little bit below average,’’ Fuller said. ‘‘This year, it’s all three skills. One of the best decision-makers in MLB, above-average contact rates and now this year, with his body, his swing, improved bat speed — there’s a lot of things we can point to.’’
And picking up some historic slack lately has been Savannah Banana-turned-All-Star rookie Tristan Peters, who ended a post-All-Star break drought at the plate by raining homers for five consecutive games to tie a franchise record. He has posted an absurd 1.200 OPS in his last 15 games.
‘‘To see him have the stretch that he’s on is incredible,’’ Fuller said. ‘‘But more than anything, to learn those lessons and to be able to provide himself confidence when he does have a few bad days of, ‘I’ll get it back,’ is really encouraging.’’
Just as incredible is the Sox leading the AL with 652 runs scored a year after scraping the bottom in most offensive categories en route to a third consecutive triple-digit-loss season. Now firmly controlling their own destiny toward a division title, the Sox are third in the AL in home runs (180) and second in OPS (.728).
‘‘To go from 14th in runs per game in the AL [last season] to first — I mean, I’d be lying if I said that I thought it was going to be where we are right now,’’ Fuller said.
‘‘Last year, the first year of the new hitting program, that was selling the vision of what could be. And now it’s pointing to the players at the big-league level who are actually doing it. So what it means to be a White Sox hitter now, we have tangible ways of showing them what we value. It’s been a ton of fun. . . . A lot to celebrate, and now looking to be able to do it into October.’’