Rockies beat White Sox 6-4 to avoid sweep in series between majors' worst teams

DENVER (AP) — Mickey Moniak finished a double shy of a cycle, Michael Toglia hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the fifth inning and the Colorado Rockies beat the Chicago White Sox 6-4 on Sunday to avoid a sweep in a series between the two worst teams in the majors.

At 21-69, the Rockies also avoided tying the 1907 St. Louis Cardinals and 1916 Philadelphia Phillies for the most losses in the first 90 games of a season in the modern era.

Moniak had a leadoff home run in the first inning and a two-run triple in the fifth. The former No. 1 overall pick has 13 homers this season, eight in the past month.

In his third career MLB game, Colson Montgomery had two hits and an RBI for the White Sox. With two hits and an RBI, Mike Tauchman improved his batting average to .372 over the past 11 games.

Zach Agnos (1-3) got the win for the Rockies after giving up one earned run in 1 1/3 innings. Seth Halvorsen pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his eighth save.

On the day he was selected for the All-Star Game, White Sox starter Shane Smith (3-7) allowed five earned runs and five hits in 4 1/3 innings.

Toglia’s homer to center field off Altavilla in the fifth capped a four-run inning for the Rockies and broke a 4-4 tie.

Nine of the Rockies’ MLB-worst 10 home wins this season have come in the final game of a series in which Colorado lost the first two matchups.

LHP Austin Gomber (0-1, 5.49 ERA) will take the mound for Colorado against RHP Richard Fitts (0-3, 4.50) at Boston on Monday night. RHP Sean Burke (4-7, 4.03) will pitch for the White Sox against RHP José Berríos (4-3, 3.64) and visiting Toronto.

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Chicago White Sox relief pitcher Mike Vasil reacts after walking Colorado Rockies' Michael Toglia to load the bases in the seventh inning of a baseball game Sunday, July 6, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Colorado Rockies' Michael Toglia gestures to the bullpen as he circles the bases after hitting a two-run home run off Chicago White Sox relief pitcher Dan Altavilla in the fifth inning of a baseball game Sunday, July 6, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Colorado Rockies' Mickey Moniak, left, gestures to the dugout after reaching third base on a triple to drive in two runs as Chicago White Sox third baseman Miguel Vargas looks on in the fifth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, July 6, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Colorado Rockies' Mickey Moniak triples to drive in two runs off Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Shane Smith in the fifth inning of a baseball game Sunday, July 6, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Colorado Rockies third base coach Andy González, left, congratulates Mickey Moniak after his triple to drive in two runs as Chicago White Sox third baseman Miguel Vargas, right, looks on in the fifth inning of a baseball game Sunday, July 6, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

ADEN, Yemen (AP) — Southern separatists in Yemen said Saudi warplanes carried out new airstrikes Saturday on a military camp in the port city of Mukalla and other areas where their forces are stationed, as Saudi-backed forces moved to retake the city.

There was no immediate Saudi comment. It was the latest direct intervention by Saudi Arabia, which in recent weeks has bombed the separatist Southern Transitional Council, or STC, and struck what is said was a shipment of Emirati weapons destined for it.

The Saudi strikes hit Barshid Brigade camp west of Mukalla in Hadramout, one of two governorates seized last month by the STC, according to the group’s AIC satellite news channel.

Yemen has been engulfed in civil war for more than a decade, with Iran-backed Houthi rebels controlling much of the north and a Saudi-led coalition supporting the internationally recognized government in the south. But coalition member the United Arab Emirates also supports the separatists, who call for South Yemen to secede again from Yemen.

The latest Saudi strikes came a day after the separatist movement announced a constitution for an independent nation in the south.

Last month, the STC moved into Hadramout and Mahra and seized an oil-rich region. That pushed out allies of the Saudi-supported National Shield forces, a group in the anti-Houthi coalition.

After Saudi pressure and an ultimatum from anti-Houthi forces to withdraw from Yemen, the UAE said early Saturday it had pulled out all its forces.

The tensions in Yemen have further strained ties between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, neighbors on the Arabian Peninsula that have competed over economic issues and regional politics, particularly in the Red Sea area. Ostensibly, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have shared the coalition's professed goal of restoring Yemen's internationally recognized government.

An official with the STC told The Associated Press on Saturday that more than 100 Saudi airstrikes struck multiple locations across Hadramout over the past 24 hours, resulting in deaths and injuries. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to brief the media.

Mukalla residents Ahmed al-Faradi and Salem Maadan told the AP the city was now controlled by the Hadramout Tribes Confederacy and the National Shield forces.

Col. Ahmed Baqatyan, a military commander in the Hadramout Tribes Confederacy, said that striking the Barshid Brigade camp was necessary because it sits on the route to the southern port city of Aden. He said clearing the camp of STC forces was aimed at preventing them from regrouping and launching a return to Mukalla.

Meanwhile, Yemen’s Transportation Ministry, aligned with the STC, condemned Saudi airstrikes late Friday it said targeted the international airport in Seiyun, “exposing the airport to serious risks that could damage its infrastructure, hindering its operation and the resumption of flights.”

Earlier on Saturday, Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry said it plans to hold a conference in its capital, Riyadh, to bring together all southern factions in Yemen "to discuss just solutions to the southern cause."

Saudi Arabia was responding to a request for dialogue from Rashad al-Alimi, head of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, the ruling organ of the internationally recognized government.

There were no immediate details about the proposed conference.

The anti-Houthi coalition was showing other signs of strain. Clashes erupted on Friday between National Shield forces and the southern forces in Hadramout and their allies, killing at least eight people, paramedic Ahmed al-Ketheri told the AP.

Hilal Khashan, political science professor at the American University of Beirut, said that when Saudi Arabia and the UAE began a military operation against the Houthis a decade ago, the Saudis were interested in controlling the mountains of Saada, while the UAE wanted to capture Aden because of its importance as a gateway to the Red Sea.

Khashan said the situation got out of control in recent weeks when the UAE-backed STC started capturing areas in Hadramout that border the kingdom.

“For the Saudis that was a red line,” Khashan said, adding that the Saudis felt that they were being “held captive between the Houthis in the north and the UAE in the south.” They ”decided to stop the UAE from its regional expansionism," he said.

Khaled reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed to this report.

Supporters of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), a coalition of separatist groups seeking to restore the state of South Yemen, hold South Yemen flags during a rally, in Aden, Yemen, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. (AP Photo)