Chicago White Sox Continue Best Stretch Of Season With Series Win Over Rays

CHICAGO –– The White Sox are no longer just playing their best baseball of the season of late. They're arguably the hottest team in Major League Baseball.

With Thursday's 5-1 win over the Rays, the White Sox are on a 9-2 run, which is tied with the Baltimore Orioles for the best record in baseball in an ongoing 11-game stretch. They're also 25-25 since the All-Star break.

"It’s great," White Sox manager Will Venable said of their play in the second half. "Obviously that’s a big step forward for us, especially where the record was at in the first half. Just a testament to these guys and the work they’ve done and continuing to go out there and fight every day. At the same time, we’ve been just focused on the things we believe are going to help us win games. These guys, the reason why I think they’re able to have good results is that they’re focused on those things."

The White Sox immediately built a lead and never looked back. In the first, Chase Meidroth and Curtis Mead led off with hits against Rays starter Ian Seymour. Colson Montgomery has become known for his power –– his 18 home runs were the most by a primary shortstop in MLB history in his first 55 games –– but all it took on Thursday was a ground ball up the middle to bring home two runs.

Meidroth set the tone in the first inning, part of a 2-for-2 day with two walks. He agreed that there has been a different feeling around the team since the All-Star break.

"I think there’s a lot of belief. Every time we show up it’s ‘Hey, we are going to win today,’" Meidroth said. "I think that’s huge. Every time we step in here, it’s a winning atmosphere. And we are coming here to win a baseball game. Everyone in here believes in the next guy and the confidence in each other is huge in this game."

After taking an early lead, starter Shane Smith and the White Sox bullpen stifled the Rays' lineup. Smith didn't allow more than one base runner in any inning from the first through fifth. And when the Rays broke that streak with a single and a walk in the sixth, Smith induced a double play against Tampa Bay's best hitter, Junior Caminero.

"He's a fighter," White Sox catcher Korey Lee said of Smith. "He pitches his ass off out there and that's what he did today. Good things happen when we have a competitor out there."

The double play capped off another strong outing for Smith, the White Sox All-Star rookie right-hander. He finished the afternoon with 5.2 scoreless innings, four hits, one walk and four strikeouts, lowering his ERA to 3.78 on the season.

White Sox relievers have been used a lot lately, so Smith was glad he could give them a bit of a break.

"It’s huge. The bullpen’s been working their tail off, especially the last 10, 11 games," Smith said. "All the starters want to go six-plus every single time. For me to get into the sixth, get the double play and for Gilbert to finish it off was incredible."

"I’m happy with today. Obviously you want to strike out 10 and go eight scoreless every time, that’s obviously not the reality. I see the good and I see the bad."

The White Sox added three insurance runs in the sixth just for good measure. Michael A. Taylor drove in one run as his fly ball kept drifting in the wind, so much so that Tampa Bay's speedy center fielder Chandler Simpson collided with the wall and couldn't secure the catch.

Kyle Teel, pinch-hitting for Lee, hit a soft fly ball that landed in shallow left field and brought home two more runs, extending the lead to 5-0. That extended Teel's on-base streak to 20 games, which is tied for the longest in MLB with Toronto's Bo Bichette and the longest by a White Sox rookie since Jose Abreu in 2014.

The Rays got a run back in the eighth against Tyler Alexander on a ground out by Junior Caminero, but it was an otherwise quiet day for their lineup.

Following this win, the White Sox will need to go 6-9 over their final 15 games to avoid a third straight 100-loss season. Next up is a trip to Cleveland, followed by series against the Orioles, Padres, Yankees and Nationals.

"It’s a good step in the right direction, but there’s more to do," Meidroth said. "We are just trying to build on top of each game and learn how to continue to play together and build up momentum rolling into next year."

"We’re just coming out ready to play from the get-go," Smith said. "Our offense is putting up a lot of runs in the first inning as of late, we’re staying on the attack. Obviously we’ve been down six or seven of those games and we’ve come back each time. Testament to the guys taking each pitch that it means something, bullpen’s been great, starters doing a pretty good job. Just trying to keep it going."

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