3 Takeaways After White Sox Clutch Hitting, Pitching Leads to Big Series Win
In this story:
After a statement win against the Detroit Tigers on Friday, the Chicago White Sox would win on Saturday, 4-3, winning the series. The White Sox are now 22-13 against their division and 4.5 games ahead of the Tigers and Twins. There was a lot to take away from this win.
Let's talk about it!
Hitting In Clutch
The White Sox were 4-for-18 with runners in scoring position. While that doesn't sound like a recipe for a win, it did the job on Saturday. In a game that was supposed to be a pitchers' duel, the White Sox hit in the clutch against Troy Melton, who had been on a hot streak before this game.
Braden Montgomery's base hit made it a 1-0 ballgame. When the Tigers tied it, Colson Montgomery would come in clutch with a two-out, two-run double on the ninth pitch of the at-bat. Colson was 16-for-95 since the All-Star break before that impressive at-bat to take the lead. While he's been struggling immensely with strikeouts, Colson showed that he is ready to break out of this long slump.
Once the Tigers tied it up again to make it 3-3, Andrew Benintendi came in the clutch with the go-ahead hit.
Pitching Solid in Win
The White Sox needed starter Anthony Kay to go at least six innings in this one after a bullpen day on Friday. That didn't exactly come to fruition. Kay would pitch 5.1 innings, with three runs and four strikeouts. It wasn't a perfect outing, but it got the job done.
After Kay was removed in the sixth inning, Jordan Hicks came in for 1.2 innings of relief. During his outing, he would give up absolutely nothing, striking out three batters. Grant Taylor then came in for an inning and shut down the opposing hitters, per usual. Bryan Hudson closed out the game, and the White Sox would win the series.
Next Up
The White Sox will attempt to sweep the Tigers on Sunday when ace Sean Burke goes up against Drew Anderson.
Burke, in his last seven games, has a 1.47 ERA with 57 strikeouts in 43 innings. He has been practically unhittable. In his last start against the Cincinnati Reds, he went seven innings, giving up just one run.
Anderson has functioned mainly as a reliever this season. However, since the trade deadline, he has stepped into a different role. In his last start on August 11, Anderson went four innings, giving up one run. Expect this to be more of a bullpen day for Detroit with Anderson not quite stretched out yet.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Matthew Singer is a contributor for White Sox on SI. Before joining SI in 2026, he worked for Heavy as an MLB contributor and Cubs on SI. Singer has a master's degree in sports journalism from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. He loves sports more than anything in the world.