In a must-win game for the Chicago White Sox to win the division, they lost to the Colorado Rockies , 9-6, on a horrible Davis Martin outing. With the Cleveland Guardians winning on Saturday, the White Sox have officially lost the AL Central. They will now head out West for a Wild Card matchup.
Sep 26, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago White Sox pitcher Davis Martin (65) walks into the dugout after being relieved during the first inning against the Colorado Rockies at Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The White Sox absolutely needed a quality outing from Davis Martin with the division on the line. But he didn't even get through one inning.
From the start, it looked like it would be a rough outing for Martin. His location was off, and his stuff wasn't nearly as good as it had been over the past few games. The first batter of the game would reach on a missed catch error by Martin. The floodgates opened after that. Martin would record just two outs, three hits, three runs (two earned), and one walk. It was aggressive to pull Martin as early as they did, but he clearly did not have it.
Noah Schultz would come in and not perform much better, with two solo home runs in 3.1 innings. Jordan Hicks , Sean Newcomb , and Huascar Brazobn would hold the score, but it wasn't enough, as the damage was already done. Bryan Hudson and Tyler Davis gave up four runs to end any attempt at a comeback.
This was a must-win game, and the pitching didn't come out ready.
Against the MLB-worst Rockies and Jose Quintana , the White Sox were able to record just eight hits.
While Brenton Doyle got his revenge against Colorado and Luisangel Acua hit his first home run since June 21, the offense just couldn't find a groove against the worst pitching staff in baseball. The White Sox were 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position, with eight left on base.
Colson Montgomery came in as a pinch hitter and was a big part of the White Sox's failure to score with runners on base, grounding into a double play in perhaps the biggest at-bat of the game. Andrew Benintendi would hit a three-run home run in the ninth, but it wouldn't matter.
Now that the division is finalized and Chicago has already clinched a playoff spot, expect the White Sox to rest some of their stars Sunday for the final game of the regular season.
Anthony Kay will face Kyle Freeland in what has now become a meaningless game for Chicago. Kay will look to redeem himself after a 6.54 ERA in his last seven starts. Meanwhile, Freeland comes in with a 6.58 ERA in 25 starts. The White Sox will hope for a morale-boosting series victory against the worst team in baseball.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/whitesox/onsi as Takeaways After White Sox Lose Division on Horrible Davis Martin Outing .
