Colson Montgomery and Kyle Teel had two-run singles and Shane Smith pitched effectively into the sixth inning as the host Chicago White Sox defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 5-1 on Thursday.
Chicago (57-90) took two of three to keep Tampa Bay’s American League playoff hopes wobbling.
The Rays fell six games behind the Seattle Mariners, who play later Thursday, in the race for the third and final AL wild-card berth. The Texas Rangers, Cleveland Guardians and Kansas City Royals are also ahead of Tampa Bay (72-74).
Chandler Simpson went 4-for-4 for the Rays, who stranded seven runners and went 0-for-10 with men in scoring position. It was the rookie’s first four-hit game; he scored the Rays’ lone run on Junior Caminero’s RBI groundout in the eighth.
Simpson hit a leadoff single against Smith in the first inning and later stole second base. That marked Simpson’s 40th steal of the season, making him the first AL rookie to reach that mark since Esteury Ruiz of the Athletics in 2023.
Smith (6-7) didn’t blink, falling one out short of delivering a quality start for the third time in his past four outings.
The right-hander spaced four hits, one walk and four strikeouts in 5 1/3 shutout innings to help the White Sox win for the ninth time in 11 games.
Montgomery grounded a two-run single in the first inning to give the White Sox an early lead against left-hander Ian Seymour. That was Chicago’s third hit in a four-batter span to start the game, but offense soon proved to be a challenge as Seymour retired eight of the next nine.
Chicago broke through in a three-run sixth. Reliever Eric Orze, recalled from Triple-A Durham before the game, yielded an RBI single to Michael A. Taylor that narrowly eluded Simpson’s running attempt at the wall before Teel contributed a pinch-hit, two-run single to stretch the lead to 5-0.
Teel, a rookie who remained in the game at catcher, extended his on-base streak to 20 games, matching Toronto’s Bo Bichette for the longest active run in the major leagues.
Chase Meidroth had two hits for Chicago.
Seymour (3-2) allowed three runs and five hits in 5 1/3 innings with two walks and five strikeouts.
Chicago won the season series 4-2.
