DENVER (AP) - Tim Anderson was looking for another fastball. And, when it came, there was no getting it by him.
Anderson homered off Colorado closer Greg Holland leading off the ninth inning, lifting the Chicago White Sox past the Rockies 5-4 on Saturday night.
“I never got off the heater,” said Anderson, whose parents and siblings were in the stands watching the game. “All the time I thought he was going to throw the heater in. I was onto the heater.”
Anderson, who also hit a home run in Friday night’s loss to Colorado, drove a 1-2 pitch from Holland (1-1) into the stand of evergreens beyond the center-field wall for his ninth home run of the season.
“His family was here and he’s been playing pretty loose and been pretty happy. Nice to see the look on his face, and playing with a little more joy,” White Sox manager Rick Renteria said. “He hit a homer in each of the last two days. Both went to center. This one tonight was a very big one.”
Holland said he had hoped to put the fastball low and away, but it wound up belt-high and right over the plate.
“It’s one of those situations where it was more of a mental mistake than a physical one,” Holland said. “You can’t do that with two strikes. It’s easier to deal with when you just get beat, but when you feel like you completely goofed, it’s a different story. I threw a pitch in the middle of the plate ahead in the count in a tie ballgame. I didn’t deserve to get out of there without a run and it unfortunately cost us tonight.”
The win snapped a three-game losing streak by the White Sox and denied the Rockies’ bid for successive wins for the first time in three weeks.
David Robertson pitched a perfect ninth for his 13th save, striking out the last two batters, including Charlie Blackmon on a disputed called third strike. Blackmon heatedly argued the call with plate umpire Sam Holbrook, claiming it was low, and threw his helmet and bat to the ground after getting tossed. Manager Bud Black also was ejected for arguing the call with Holbrook.
Trailing 4-3 in the eighth, Colorado evened the score when Mark Reynolds hit a leadoff triple off reliever Tommy Kahnle (1-3) and scored on Gerardo Parra’s sacrifice fly.
After Willy Garcia hit a one-out triple in the fourth, pitcher Jose Quintana lifted a sacrifice fly to left to give the White Sox a 4-2 lead.
Colorado pulled within a run in the sixth. Quintana issued a pair of walks around striking out Nolan Arenado, who homered earlier. Parra hit a one-out RBI double and Quintana was relieved by Anthony Swarzak, who got out of the jam by striking out Trevor Story and inducing a groundout from Tony Wolters.
Quintana finished with 10 strikeouts, tying a season high, and allowed three runs on five hits in 5 1/3 innings.
Jeff Hoffman went seven innings for Colorado, allowing four runs on seven hits.
The White Sox jumped on Hoffman for three runs in the first, hitting two of their three triples in the game. With two outs, Jose Abreu tripled off the right-field wall before Todd Frazier walked. Yolmer Sanchez followed by tripling over the head of center fielder Blackmon. Kevan Smith singled Sanchez home.
The Rockies responded in their half of the first when Arenado drove Quintana’s 2-2 offering 15 rows into the left field bleachers for his 17th homer, a two-run shot, and his second homer in as many games.
TRAINER’S ROOM
White Sox: OF Avisail Garcia was held out of the starting lineup for a second consecutive game to rest a bruised right middle finger. The team’s lone All-Star, Garcia is expected to be back in the lineup Sunday, the final game before the All-Star break.
Rockies: Slumping OF Carlos Gonzalez was out of the starting lineup for a second consecutive game. Gonzalez, batting .217, has struggled at the plate in between his first stint on the disabled list in three years. He struck out as a pinch hitter in the ninth for the game’s final out. Gonzalez spent 1 1/2 weeks on the DL for a shoulder injury before being reinstated Monday.
UP NEXT
White Sox: LHP Carlos Rodon (1-1, 1.59 ERA), who had 10 strikeouts in beating Oakland last time out, is slated to make his first career appearance against the Rockies.
Rockies: Rookie LHP Kyle Freeland (8-7, 4.09 ERA) has gone 3-0 with a 2.95 ERA in three previous starts this season against American League teams with wins against Minnesota, Seattle and Cleveland.
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This story has been corrected to show it was a 1-2 pitch from Holland.
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