Goodman's 40th homer, three-run first lead Rockies past White Sox 9-6

Hunter Goodman hits his 40th home run of the season as the Colorado Rockies beat the Chicago White Sox 9-6 at Rate Field, damaging Chicago's AL Central hopes.

The Colorado Rockies defeated the Chicago White Sox 9-6 on Saturday night at Rate Field, dealing a heavy blow to Chicago's AL Central chances. Hunter Goodman marked the occasion with his 40th home run of the season, while Cleveland built a late lead in its own game to leave the White Sox's division hopes in serious danger.

Colorado pounced on Chicago starter Davis Martin in the first inning. Jake McCarthy reached on an error by the pitcher and advanced to third on a Cole Carrigg single before Goodman struck out. TJ Rumfield followed with an RBI single to right, Connor Norby worked a five-pitch walk, and Adael Amador delivered a two-run single for a 3-0 lead. Martin was done after two outs, having allowed three runs on three hits with a walk and a strikeout over 25 pitches, and Noah Schultz recorded the final out of the inning.

The milestone blast arrived in the third, when Goodman hit a 381-foot solo shot to left field. Only seven times before had a National League catcher finished a season with 40 or more home runs, a group featuring Johnny Bench, Roy Campanella and Mike Piazza. Goodman is the first Rockie to reach 40 since Nolan Arenado in 2019, and his campaign stands as the best offensive season by a catcher in franchise history.

Chicago countered with solo home runs from Brenton Doyle, who went deep in his first at-bat against his former team since being traded, and Luisangel Acuña in the third inning. Ezequiel Tovar, showing signs of life late in the year after a difficult start, added a solo homer in the fourth to make it 5-2. At that moment, Cleveland led its game 5-3, adding to the pressure on the White Sox.

José Quintana faced the club with which he spent nearly the first decade of his career. After a season interrupted by injuries, he completed three innings, allowing two solo home runs as his only hits with three strikeouts, and left with the Rockies in position to win.

Rumfield's first-inning hit raised his season average to .300, and manager Warren Schaeffer later removed him from the game to protect the number, shifting Norby to first base and inserting Kyle Karros in the cleanup spot. The victory provided a highlight in a fourth straight 100-loss season for Colorado, which has improved on its 2025 record behind a group of young players.

The bullpens settled things for several innings. Ryan Feltner replaced Quintana and posted a 1-2-3 fourth that included a four-pitch strikeout of Kyle Teel, stranded a hit and a walk in the fifth, and fanned Colson Montgomery to end the sixth after singles by Teel and Sam Antonacci. Jordan Hicks threw a hitless fifth for Chicago, and Sean Newcomb added a scoreless sixth before Carrigg doubled with two outs in the seventh, bringing on Huascar Brazobán to escape the jam.

Chicago cut into the lead in the seventh. Miguel Vargas drew a walk and a ball got past Amador, placing runners on the corners, before Randal Grichuk's groundout brought home a run to make it 5-3. Brennan Bernardino relieved Feltner and watched Munetaka Murakami's deep fly ball fall just short of the warning track. By the ninth inning, Cleveland had stretched its lead to 8-5, leaving Chicago's division hopes all but gone.

The White Sox continued to apply pressure in the late innings, but Colorado closed out the 9-6 victory. With the season nearing its end, the Rockies added a road win over a contender and a historic power milestone for their catcher to their list of positives.