Grichuk and Doyle go deep in 3rd, power playoff-bound White Sox past Rockies 4-2 in season finale

CHICAGO (AP) — Randal Grichuk and Brenton Doyle homered in Chicago’s four-run third inning, powering the playoff-bound White Sox over the Colorado Rockies 4-2 in Sunday's regular-season finale.

The White Sox finished at 84-78, one game behind division champion Cleveland in the AL Central. They will open a best-of-three AL Wild Card Series on Tuesday at Houston.

Chicago managed a 24-win improvement over 2025 when it was last in the AL at 60-102, becoming the first team to qualify for the postseason after consecutive 100-loss seasons. Chicago's 84 wins set a record for a team that had lost 100 or more games in three previous seasons.

Cole Carrigg hit a solo shot for the Rockies, who lost 18 of their last 22 and finished 58-104, worst in the majors for a second straight season. Colorado was 43-119 in 2025, setting a franchise record for losses.

Colorado became the first team with four straight 100-loss seasons since the 1962-65 New York Mets.

The White Sox peaked at nine games over .500 (72-63) on Aug. 29 and had a 4 1/2-game lead in the AL Central. But they went 12-15 the rest of the way while Cleveland surged to its third straight division title.

The White Sox's crowd of of 29,767 on Sunday gave them a season attendance of 1,986,419, an average of 24,524 compared 18,072 in 2025.

Anthony Kay (10-9) allowed one run and five hits in five innings for his first win since Aug. 8. Trevor Richards tossed the final 3 1/3 innings, yielding a run on one hit for his second save.

Sam Antonacci doubled among two hits.

Kyle Freeland (4-12) yielded four runs on seven hits in four innings.

Grichuk's homer was his 15th with the White Sox, who signed veteran in May after the Yankees released him. Doyle, acquired the deadline from Colorado, lofted his sixth down the left field line three batters later.

White Sox: Open their best-of-three AL Wild Card series at Houston on Tuesday and had not announced a starter.

Chicago White Sox's Luisangel Acuña, right, steals second base against Colorado Rockies' Adael Amador, left, during the third inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Melissa Tamez)

Chicago White Sox's Brenton Doyle, right, celebrates after his two-run home run with Munetaka Murakami, left, during the third inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Melissa Tamez)

Chicago White Sox's Randal Grichuk hits a two-run home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Melissa Tamez)

Chicago White Sox's Sean Newcomb throws during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Melissa Tamez)

CHICAGO (AP) — Colson Montgomery wants to focus on his accomplishments, not on breaking the season strikeout record for batters.

In his second major league season, the 24-year-old Chicago White Sox infielder struck out for the 224th time Friday, one more than Mark Reynolds' total with Arizona in 2009. Montgomery fanned three more times over the weekend, finishing with 227 K’s in 568 at-bats and 638 plate appearances for the year.

“It’s definitely something you don’t want your name to be a part of of,” Montgomery said Sunday. “But at the end of the day, you can’t be looking so much at the negative stuff. I’ve looked at a lot of the stuff we’ve all done this year and me personally, and I felt like it’s been a lot of positives.

Montgomery finished the regular season with a .197 average, 31 homers and 87 RBIs for the White Sox, who go to Houston for a best-of-three Wild Card Series starting Tuesday.

“For me to really go into the dumps about what just happened and for me to be so upset about it and not try to get better in the position we’re at at as a team right now, I feel would be selfish,” he said. “It’s just one of those things like if you go up to the plate, you know, you’re feeling tense and stuff, you know you’re probably going to not really do what you want to do. So recently, I’ve been going up there trying to be as a loose as I can, simplify my plans as much as I can.”

He ended the season in a 6-for-77 slide.

“If you're swinging at good pitches, you're giving yourself a chances, you know, to be able to do something productive and get some type of result," Montgomery said. "So that's kind of like in my work and my routine. Swing-decision stuff and just trying to get in that competitive mindset.

“I think it’s just continuing to do what got me here,” Montgomery added. “There's some things in the cage that we’ve been doing and a lot of it is is just kind of go out there and, you know, just try to be open-minded and compete."

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Chicago White Sox's Colson Montgomery reacts after striking out during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

Chicago White Sox's Colson Montgomery reacts after striking out during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)