On paper, Friday’s series opener against the 58-70 New York Mets looked like a favorable matchup for the Chicago White Sox, opening a stretch of 10 consecutive series against teams with worse records as they look to close out the season.
But in baseball, it’s often less about who you play and more about when you play them. The Mets entered Friday in the midst of one of their best stretches of the season, having won seven of their previous 10 games. So naturally, it took a barrage of home runs and late-game heroics from a recent waiver claim to bring them down, as the White Sox rallied for a thrilling 6-4 comeback victory.
Jake Rogers has already suited up for four different teams this season, and while the six-year veteran had recorded at least one hit for each of them, he joined the White Sox on August 14th with just 18 on the year. But his second hit with the White Sox, and 20th of the year, may have been the biggest swing of his career.
Despite having their ace Sean Burke on the mound, the White Sox quickly found themselves in a 4-0 hole, while their offense was mired in a 15-inning scoreless drought dating back to the eighth inning of Wednesday’s 3-0 victory over their crosstown rivals.
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But as they have proven throughout the season, Will Venable’s squad is often just one swing away from changing a game. That proved true again Friday, only this time, it took three swings over the course of six pitches, with the White Sox going back-to-back-to-back.
Munetaka Murakami sparked the rally with a one-out walk in the sixth inning after overturning a would-be strike three call with an ABS challenge on a 2-2 count. That set the table for Miguel Vargas, who quickly cut the deficit to two after sending a Sean Manaea sweeper 405 feet into left field.
Three pitches later, Randal Grichuk unloaded on a Manaea fastball, sending it into the left-center field seats to make it back-to-back homers. Colson Montgomery then completed the three-homer barrage, launching his 27th home run of the season to cap the comeback.
It marked the second time this season the White Sox have gone back-to-back-to-back, with Vargas and Montgomery also accounting for two-thirds of the last tirfecta on April 21 in Arizona.
Scoreless innings from Jordan Hicks, Bryan Hudson and Grant Taylor out of the bullpen then set the stage for the White Sox’s 10th walk-off win of the season in the bottom of the ninth.
Montgomery led off the inning with a walk against rookie reliever Jefry Yan, and Brenton Doyle followed by moving the winning run into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Yan then got within one out of escaping the jam before Jake Rogers, hitting just .178, stepped to the plate with the game on the line.
Rogers is not exactly known for his power, entering the at-bat with just 48 career home runs in more than 1,200 plate appearances. But if you’re going to start a comeback with three homers, you might as well finish it with a fourth.
Rogers did just that, launching a 401-foot shot to center field on the second pitch of the at-bat. As he crossed home plate, his teammates poured out of the dugout to mob him, while the crowd of more than 31,000 that had been silent hours earlier erupted.
For most teams, it would have been an improbable comeback. But for the 2026 White Sox, it has almost become routine. Rogers’ home run marked the eighth different player to deliver a walk-off hit for Chicago this season.
The White Sox’s season has been reminiscent of the 2025 Chicago Bears, a year defined by late-game heroics, thrilling comebacks, and a new unlikely hero seemingly every week. Call it divine intervention from the Pope or the magic of Mike Vasil’s wand, but with a lineup this deep, the White Sox always seem to find someone ready to step up and carry the load, even when some of their usual offensive anchors are in the midst of a rough stretch.
With 10 series against teams below .500 still ahead, Friday’s comeback served as another reminder that the White Sox can’t afford to take anyone lightly as they chase the American League’s No 2 seed, and that this team is never truly out of a game.
But anyone who has followed the White Sox this season probably didn’t need another reminder.
