Rookie Jacob Gonzalez making contributions to the Chicago White Sox lineup: ‘He’s swinging it well’

CLEVELAND — The Chicago White Sox already had scored two runs in the third inning Tuesday in Baltimore in the form of a Colson Montgomery home run.

They were looking for more, with Jacob Gonzalez batting with the bases loaded.

“Infield was in, so I was trying to get the ball in the air,” Gonzalez said Wednesday morning.

The rookie first baseman lined a low Trey Gibson fastball to left field for a two-run single.

“Luckily, (the liner) was low enough to be a hit, and two runs scored,” Gonzalez said.

It was the first of three hits on the night and his second straight multihit performance against the Orioles.

“Felt good,” Gonzalez, 24, said. “Just doing whatever I could to help the team win.”

Gonzalez continues to contribute after being called up from Triple-A Charlotte on May 30.

“It’s really cool to be up here, but this team’s been a lot of fun, and it’s a cool group of guys,” Gonzalez said. “It feels like half the team is rookies, which is pretty cool. And it’s just fun to win with these guys.

“We all care and we all really want to do something here.”

Entering Thursday’s series opener against the second-place Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field, Gonzalez was slashing .423/.483/.692 (11-for-26) with one home run and 12 RBI in his last seven games.

“The bat is moving well,” manager Will Venable said Tuesday. “He understands how to negotiate some of these close pitches. He’s doing a good job controlling the zone, and when it’s in the zone he’s hitting it hard.”

According to Elias, Gonzalez is the first Sox rookie to drive in 12 runs in a five-game stretch (June 26-30) since José Abreu from April 23-27, 2014. That included five RBI on June 26 against the Kansas City Royals and a walk-off hit against the Royals the next day.

He is 8-for-16 with 14 RBI with runners in scoring position this season.

“It’s great for us to have somebody we can put down in the lineup that can produce and slug for us, and hit doubles and homers and stuff,” Montgomery said Tuesday. “He came up here and he was hot and then it’s just like anything, they adjust to you, so he was in an adjustment period and I think he’s made the adjustment and he’s swinging it well.”

Overall, the 2023 first-round pick had a .253 average with two home runs, 17 RBI and 11 runs in 25 games coming into Thursday.

Recent adjustments have been helpful.

“I essentially was getting too narrow in my stance, which I didn’t realize, so I just widened back up and was making sure I wasn’t too turned,” Gonzalez said. “I’m just happy that I’m helping us score, helping us win some games, and hopefully we keep it up.

“The widening, I would say, is just allowing me to not over-rotate. So then I’m able to get my hips cleared faster. So I’m able to just not be late as often.”

Gonzalez has aided the bottom of the lineup for the Sox, who entered Thursday with a one-game lead in the AL Central. He was in the No. 9 spot on the night he had five RBI against the Royals.

“It’s really been impressive and it’s developed throughout the year,” Venable said before Thursday’s game of the team’s production from the last three spots in the lineup. “To give these guys credit, early in the year, at the bottom of the order, it was let’s find a way to squeak one out. You saw a lot of (safety squeezes) and situational stuff and we kind of moved away from that because of Tristan (Peters) and (Gonzalez) performing at such a high level, slugging, having these quality at-bats where they are able to do damage and then produce just like the top of the order.

“It’s evolved into that and really a credit to those two guys, and (Luisangel) Acuña is the same way — he’s performed much better here of late. So, these guys are all in their good spot to contribute at high levels.”

While Gonzalez is adapting to facing big-league pitching, he’s also learning more defensively at first base.

“I feel good,” said Gonzalez, who largely played shortstop this year with Charlotte. “Obviously some early mistakes, but hopefully those mistakes are behind me, and I’m just going to keep on learning the position, keep on working at it, and hopefully good stuff happens.”

Gonzalez’s favorite aspect since arriving has been how the team continues to work.

“Late in games, we don’t give up,” Gonzalez said. “We’re going to go out there, and we’re going to do our thing.”