White Sox battle back in seven-run eighth inning to win

DENVER -- With seven innings in the books Sunday afternoon at Coors Field, the White Sox were staring a three-game sweep, not to mention a 19th loss in 26 games, in the face. They were trailing the Rockies by a pair of runs with six outs to make something good happen after losing the first two games of the series by a combined margin of 19 runs.

Then, suddenly, like the flip of a light switch, the energy that manager Pedro Grifol said was missing from his club at key moments on Friday and Saturday jolted Chicago’s bats awake.

The Sox, after scoring a total of six runs over the first two games at one of the most hitter-friendly venues in baseball, scored seven in a pivotal eighth inning that led to a 10-5 victory over Colorado.

Following Saturday’s 11-5 loss, Grifol said he would be addressing what he called an “unacceptable” inconsistency in the energy level of his club, particularly after falling behind early. The White Sox, who have faced questions regarding the culture, chemistry and accountability in their clubhouse this season, responded.

“We talked about it,” Grifol said. “We fell behind [again] today and momentum wasn’t on our side. It was on theirs. It was good to see the guys continue to battle. It’s a good group in there. They root for each other, they fight for each other. Sometimes, it just doesn’t go our way. But I like what they’re doing in there.

“Those are things that I don’t need to talk about with the media or anything like that. It stays in [the clubhouse]. But I like what they’re doing.”

What they did in the eighth inning Sunday halted, at least temporarily, a steady stream of negative developments.

There was an ESPN report earlier this month that cited former White Sox reliever Kenyan Middleton, who claimed there was a lack of accountability in the clubhouse while he was with the team before he was traded to the Yankees on Aug. 1.

Then, on Aug. 5, shortstop Tim Anderson was involved in an altercation during a benches-clearing incident at Progressive Field, for which he was suspended five games. He began serving the suspension prior to Friday’s series opener against Colorado.

The seven-run scoring barrage Sunday began with an Andrew Benintendi single -- his third of the game -- against Rockies reliever Matt Koch. Luis Robert Jr. then drew a walk, and that was followed by an Andrew Vaughn single that loaded the bases.

Yoán Moncada then delivered one of three big hits that represented the breakthrough the White Sox had been seeking all weekend. He scorched a two-run double off the wall in right-center field to tie the game. The ball came off the bat with an exit velocity of 112.7 mph, per Statcast.

One out later, Rockies reliever Justin Bruihl intentionally walked Yasmani Grandal to load the bases. Left-handed-hitting rookie Oscar Colás came to the plate against the lefty and, reaching for a slider off the plate away, dropped a double into the left-center-field gap to put Chicago ahead, 7-5.

“It was definitely a difficult at-bat,” Colás said through interpreter Billy Russo. “Lefty against lefty is always difficult. But I was just sitting on one pitch: slider.”

Later in the inning, fellow rookie Lenyn Sosa put an exclamation point on the frame with a three-run homer to left off Justin Lawrence.

While things didn’t look great for the Sox early on, particularly with starter Dylan Cease giving up five runs on eight hits while walking two and striking out six over 4 2/3 innings, there was a happier ending for Chicago this time.

The eighth inning in Colorado on Sunday doesn’t erase the 75 losses the White Sox have had in a disappointing season on the South Side. But it certainly changed the vibe of the flight back to Chicago for a group still searching for its identity.

As the Sox head home to open a week-long homestand against the Mariners and A’s, they have something, albeit small, to build upon rather than try to forget. And this positive development was rooted in a stark difference from Friday and Saturday: no let-down late.

“We were confident all the way through,” Colás said. “As everybody says, ‘The game doesn’t end until the last out.’ There are 27 outs.”