MINNEAPOLIS — Walking back to the White Sox’ dugout after his two-run homer in the second inning Monday against the Twins, Chase Meidroth had a revelation.
“He came into the dugout and he was like, ‘Dude, homers are sick,’” fellow rookie Colson Montgomery said after a 6-5 win. “I was like, ‘Yeah, they are pretty sick.’ ”
For a moment, Meidroth got to feel what Montgomery has been feeling on the regular. Three batters before Meidroth’s blast, Montgomery belted his 16th homer of the season off Twins starter Bailey Ober on a 2-0 slider, putting him two homers behind teammate Lenyn Sosa’s 18 despite playing in 73 fewer games. Montgomery finished 2-for-5 with an RBI.
“I saw it in [Triple-A] Charlotte, so it’s great that [Montgomery’s] having the success he’s having, because he’s put in a lot of work,” said Meidroth, who went 1-for-4. “From the beginning of the season when we were in Triple A together . . . we were playing up the middle and talking about things like this all year.”
Montgomery has now homered six times in his last seven games and in each of his four games against the Twins this season. The 16 homers through his first 47 career games are the second only to Jose Abreu’s 17 in his first 47 games in 2014.
“From playing with him in the fall league in ’23 and getting to know him, I’m super happy for him,” reliever Jordan Leasure said of Montgomery. “I hope he keeps it going for the next 10-15 years.”
Montgomery is trying to keep everything in perspective.
“Just compete and have fun, and whatever happens happens,” he said. “That’s what everybody was doing [Monday]. Everybody was swinging it pretty well. Even against the Yankees, I feel like we outhit them in most games. It’s just a matter of getting runs across the board, and we did that today.”
Meidroth’s ankle of minimal concern
Looking back to see if Montgomery had scored from third, Meidroth rolled his ankle stepping onto first base while running out a single in the sixth. He’s considered day to day. Manager Will Venable used a pinch runner for Meidroth in the eighth.
“We’ll see where he’s at for playing [Tuesday],” Venable said. “I just took him out there as a runner to just upgrade on the speed, but he just rolled his ankle.”
Meidroth didn’t seem too concerned about the ankle in the locker room after the game. The Sox were more focused on his early homer — his fourth of the season.
“The little fella, he got it over the fence,” Montgomery said. “That was good. We have guys [who] can make big-time plays, so it was just a matter of time.”
Roster moves
From Triple-A Charlotte, the Sox recalled left-hander Fraser Ellard, who opened the game Monday, as well as infielder Bryan Ramos.
Ellard threw 1⅔ innings against the Twins, allowing one run (unearned) with three walks and two strikeouts.