BODY:
The Chicago White Sox entered the week of May 11 needing two wins to reach .500. They left it with a series win over the Cubs and, for the first time since 2022, a winning record this late in a season.
The South Siders finished off a sweep of the Kansas City Royals on Thursday, then took a series over the Cubs over the weekend in the Crosstown Classic. According to a Yahoo Sports weekly recap, 11 different White Sox players hit a total of 15 home runs across the seven-day stretch, a stretch that covered two series against two separate opponents.
The week opened Tuesday against Kansas City. Drew Romo hit his fourth homer of the season in the bottom of the fifth inning. Chase Meidroth followed in the same inning with a three-run shot to give Chicago a 5-2 lead. Then Derek Hill delivered a go-ahead home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift the White Sox to a 6-5 win.
Wednesday brought another 6-5 result. Colson Montgomery ripped a solo shot to right field in the bottom of the seventh, providing the winning run. Thursday's sweep-clinching game was less dramatic. Randal Grichuk opened the scoring with a two-run shot in the first inning, and Chicago cruised to a 6-2 victory.
Then came the Cubs.
Friday's opener ended in a loss, but not without contributions. Montgomery tied the game with a solo home run in the second inning. Miguel Vargas tied it again later with a solo shot to right field to make it 4-4. Jarred Kelenic added a home run in the bottom of the ninth of Friday's loss, cutting what would have been a six-run deficit to five.
Saturday belonged to the White Sox. Vargas launched a 421-foot, three-run home run to left-center field to get the scoring started. Munetaka Murakami then hit a solo shot just over the glove of Pete Crow-Armstrong to put Chicago up 4-0. Montgomery followed with what the recap described as an absolute missile off the Stadium Club windows, a 442-foot solo home run that was his 13th of the season. Murakami then recorded his first multihomer game in the majors, hitting a second home run that came off the bat at 109 mph and scored Sam Antonacci to make it 7-0.
The White Sox won the series over the weekend against a Cubs team that had already put together two separate 10-game winning streaks this season and sat atop the NL Central.
The week established that this young White Sox roster, built around power and defense, can compete in the NL Central. Montgomery finished the week with three home runs and now has 13 on the season.
