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White Sox need Colson Montgomery to find his timing before it's too late

suntimes.com · 22h · first reportShare

DETROIT — Colson Montgomery hadn’t hit sixth in the White Sox’ lineup since April 22. But that’s where he has found himself in four of the last five games, including the opener of a big three-game series Friday against the second-place Tigers. “I talked to Colson the other day and just said, We’re going to move you down a spot or two in the order,” manager Will Venable said Thursday. “No big deal. Just want to take a little pressure off him not to feel like he had to do anything more than just get back on line and be himself.” It hasn’t quite worked. After hitting a three-run homer batting sixth Sunday, Montgomery was hitless in his last 10 at-bats in that spot entering Friday. In 114 games, his batting average was down to .212, and despite hitting 26 home runs, his slugging percentage was down to .435. In his first three at-bats Friday, he struck out, grounded out and flew out. In 71 games last season, his rookie year, Montgomery batted only .239, but he slugged .529 and hit 21 homers