White Sox back on track with home series vs. Reds ahead

The Chicago White Sox are trending in the right direction once again following a season-high four-game losing skid.

The White Sox will look to win their third in a row on Tuesday when they open a three-game series against the visiting Cincinnati Reds.

Chicago bolstered its lead atop the American League Central over the weekend by winning the final two contests of its three-game series versus the Cleveland Guardians. The White Sox waited through a 2-hour, 23-minute rain delay before posting a 5-3 victory on Sunday.

The latest victory was the club's 61st win of the season, topping its total for the entire 2025 campaign. One more victory would be the White Sox's most in a season since 2022.

"It's great. It signals progress for us," Chicago manager Will Venable said. "Obviously, we have a long way to go here, but certainly happy about where we're at now, knowing that we've gone through some stuff and continue to push through and just get better and better."

Colson Montgomery belted a three-run homer in the third inning, marking his seventh hit in his last nine games.

Montgomery's homer was his 26th of the season, joining Munetaka Murakami for the team lead. Murakami, who went deep in each of the first two games of the weekend series, joined Randal Grichuk with an RBI double on Sunday.

While the White Sox sit atop the AL Central, the Reds reside in the cellar of the National League Central after being swept in a three-game set this past weekend by the Washington Nationals. Cincinnati mustered just 16 hits en route to getting outscored 20-6 in the series, with Dane Myers' sacrifice fly in the second inning accounting for the team's lone run in a 7-1 loss on Sunday.

"You go through stretches, obviously, like this, or bad series like this," Reds pitcher Brady Singer said. "We'll just keep pushing. Take the off day (Monday), enjoy it and get back after it against the White Sox."

Chicago will turn to right-hander Sean Burke (7-6, 3.08 ERA) to make the start on Tuesday against Cincinnati left-hander Nick Lodolo (3-2, 4.60), who is expected to return from the 15-day injured list after being sidelined by a blister on his left index finger.

Burke fell to 0-2 in his last three outings on Wednesday after allowing two runs on five hits in 4 1/3 innings in a 4-0 setback to the Boston Red Sox.

"From the get-go, the breaking balls weren't really there," Burke said, per the Chicago Sun-Times. "I was really just pitching off my four-seam, two-seam and cutter today, which makes it hard against a lineup like that."

Burke, 26, has yet to face the Reds in his career.

Lodolo is making his return exactly one month after his last major league appearance, when he exited in the sixth inning against the Chicago Cubs.

He is hoping a new grip on his curveball will prevent additional blister issues. He yielded three runs in 4 1/3 innings in a rehab start with the Triple-A Louisville last Wednesday.

Lodolo, 28, is 1-1 with a 3.68 ERA in three career appearances (all starts) versus the White Sox.

--Field Level Media