The Rockies opened their final series of the 2026 season Friday night with a 6-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox.
Munetaka Murakami (村上 宗隆) homered twice and drove in three runs, while Sean Burke held Colorado to one run over 5.1 innings as Chicago improved to 83-77. The Rockies fell to 57-103 with the loss.
Burke earned the win to improve to 11-7, while Tomoyuki Sugano (菅野 智之) fell to 12-12 after allowing four runs over 6.2 innings.
Colorado stayed within reach for most of the night. TJ Rumfield homered,
Hunter Goodman came within a few feet of his 40th home run and Sugano settled in after a difficult opening.
The Rockies just never found enough offense to make the White Sox pay.
Sugano settles after a rough start
Sugano’s night started with traffic.
Sam Antonacci opened the first with a soft liner just over Ezequiel Tovar, who had shifted toward the middle. Kyle Teel followed with a first-pitch bunt back toward the mound, but Sugano charged and fired to second, where Tovar stretched while keeping contact with the bag to get the lead runner.
The inning still got messy.
A pitch in the dirt got away from Goodman, who recovered but threw the ball into the outfield as Teel advanced. The play was scored as a wild pitch and a throwing error on Goodman, putting Teel at third.
Miguel Vargas followed with a sacrifice fly to center to give Chicago the lead.
Then Murakami got Sugano for the first time.
Sugano worked him to a 2-2 count before leaving an 86 mph slider down in the zone. Murakami sent it high and deep to right field, and the crowd reacted almost immediately.
The ball left the bat at 103.3 mph, traveled 386 feet and gave Murakami his 34th home run of the season.
The White Sox led 2-0.
It continued a season-long problem for Colorado, which entered the night having allowed more first-inning runs than any other team in baseball.
Sugano struck out Andrew Benintendi to end the inning and worked a clean second before Chicago added another run in the third.
Braden Montgomery and Antonacci opened the inning with singles, but Goodman threw out Antonacci trying to steal second. Teel then lifted a sacrifice fly to center to make it 3-1.
From there, Sugano completely changed the shape of his outing.
He retired the White Sox in order in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings and eventually set down 10 consecutive hitters.
That stretch also put Sugano on the mound for a piece of baseball history.
Colson Montgomery entered the night tied with former Rockie Mark Reynolds for the most strikeouts in a single season. Montgomery worked the count full in the fifth before Sugano threw a 93.3 mph four-seam fastball right down the middle.
Montgomery left the bat on his shoulder.
Strike three.
He simply turned and walked back to the dugout, newly infamous with his 224th strikeout of the season and the single-season record.
Sugano finished the sixth by getting Vargas to chase an 87.9 mph splitter well below the zone, completing another 1-2-3 inning.
The splitter was his most-used pitch overall at 22%, and it was also his best bat-missing offering. Sugano generated six whiffs on nine swings with it.
He mixed all seven pitches in his arsenal: splitter, sinker, curveball, four-seam fastball, cutter, slider and sweeper.
The cutter also played well, producing four whiffs on nine swings.
Sugano’s four-seamer averaged 93.1 mph, while the sinker sat at 92.8 mph. Overall, he generated 14 whiffs on 46 swings.
Sugano returned for the seventh and missed with a sweeper before coming back with a 92.9 mph sinker.
Murakami crushed it.
The ball left at 109.4 mph and traveled 412 feet to left-center for his second homer of the night and No. 35 on the season.
Sugano struck out Benintendi and got Tristan Peters to pop out before Randal Grichuk lined a single to left, ending his night.
His final line was 6.2 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 5 K and 2 HR on 90 pitches, 57 strikes.
It was probably Sugano’s final start as a Rockie, and his chase for win No. 13 instead ended with loss No. 12.
Still, the outing did not get away from him in the way several recent starts had.
The White Sox scored early, Sugano settled in and Murakami simply beat him twice.
Burke keeps the Rockies uncomfortable
Sean Burke looked sharp immediately.
His arm action was quick, his pitches looked crisp and Colorado hitters never seemed particularly comfortable.
Jake McCarthy and Adael Amador struck out to begin the game before Goodman flew out to end a 1-2-3 first inning.
That continued throughout Burke’s outing.
Rockies hitters were frequently late on fastballs, taking emergency swings just to stay alive or getting underneath pitches and putting them harmlessly in the air.
TJ Rumfield was the exception.
Rumfield led off the second with one of Colorado’s best at-bats of the night.
Burke got him to 2-2, but Rumfield fouled off five consecutive pitches — three four-seamers, a knuckle curve and a sinker.
Burke finally went to an 86.7 mph slider on pitch No. 10.
Rumfield drove it to right.
The ball left at 101.4 mph and just cleared the wall for his 16th home run of the season.
That cut Chicago’s lead to 2-1.
Rumfield added an infield single in the fourth when a one-hopper deflected off Burke and landed behind the mound.
Otherwise, Burke was in control.
He threw his four-seam fastball 42% of the time, averaging 93.9 mph and topping out at 95.5.
Burke mixed in a knuckle curve, cutter, slider, sinker and occasional changeup. The knuckle curve produced three whiffs on seven swings, while the slider generated four on nine.
Overall, Burke produced 15 whiffs on 52 swings.
The numbers matched what the Rockies looked like at the plate. They were rarely comfortable.
Burke finally ran into trouble in the sixth.
Goodman came to the plate with one out and worked his way to 2-2 before fouling off a slider and four-seam fastball.
Burke went back to the slider.
Goodman hammered it.
The ball left at 109.4 mph and traveled 390 feet to left-center.
For a moment, it looked like home run No. 40.
Instead, it hit the wall.
Goodman settled for his 20th double of the year, missing the milestone by only a few feet.
It also ended Burke’s night.
He finished with 5.1 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB and 7 K.
Colorado lets its best chance slip away
Hagen Smith replaced Burke and got Rumfield to ground out, leaving Goodman at second.
A passed ball moved Goodman to third.
Then Kyle Karros appeared to strike out looking.
Colorado challenged the call through ABS, and the pitch was overturned to ball four.
Instead of the inning ending, Karros walked.
Warren Schaeffer went to Cole Carrigg to pinch-hit for Mickey Moniak, putting the switch-hitter on the right side against the left-handed Smith.
Carrigg battled.
He worked the count to 3-1, swung through a 94 mph fastball and then fouled off three straight two-strike pitches.
Smith kept attacking.
Four of his final five pitches were four-seamers.
Carrigg finally swung through a 93.2 mph fastball on pitch No. 9.
It was Colorado’s best chance to change the game.
They came away with nothing.
Chicago pulls away late
The Rockies went quietly in the seventh, and Murakami’s second homer pushed the White Sox lead to 4-1.
Colorado still had a chance.
The eighth ended that.
Juan Mejía entered and allowed four hits.
Braden Montgomery reached on a soft single, Antonacci followed with another and Teel singled to center to score Montgomery.
After Vargas flew out, Murakami added one more hit, lining a single to right to score Antonacci.
Chicago led 6-1.
Murakami finished 3-for-4 with two home runs, three RBI and two runs scored.
Colorado did not put another runner on base.
Bryan Hudson retired Rumfield, Karros and Carrigg in order in the ninth.
Carrigg flew out to center to end it.
Final thoughts
The Rockies finished with four hits, struck out 11 times and went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position.
Rumfield supplied the only run and went 2-for-4, keeping his late push toward a .300 batting average alive.
Goodman came painfully close to reaching 40 home runs.
Sugano recovered after the rough first three innings and gave Colorado a chance for most of the night.
Burke was simply better, and Murakami did most of the damage when Chicago needed it.
The White Sox had more to play for.
It showed.
Up next
The Rockies and White Sox continue their three-game series Saturday night at Rate Field, with first pitch scheduled for 5:10 p.m. MDT.
Colorado will send veteran left-hander José Quintana (2-3, 5.40 ERA, 22 K) to the mound.
Chicago will counter with right-hander Davis Martin (9-7, 3.84 ERA, 121 K).
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