CHICAGO (Interstat) — Anthony Kay allowed one earned run over five innings, Trevor Richards finished with 3 1/3 innings of relief, and the Chicago White Sox used a four-run third inning to beat the Colorado Rockies 4-2 in an afternoon game at Guaranteed Rate Field. Chicago improved to 85-79 and took two of three in the weekend series. Colorado fell to 60-104. The game lasted 2 hours, 19 minutes and drew 29,767.

Kay, now 10-10, gave up five hits, walked two and struck out four. He was backed by home runs from Randal Grichuk and Brenton Doyle, each of whom drove in two runs. Kyle Freeland took the loss for Colorado, dropping to 4-12 after allowing four earned runs on seven hits over four innings with two strikeouts.

The Rockies put a runner on in the first when Connor Norby singled to left, but Anthony Kay struck out Hunter Goodman and Cole Carrigg to end the inning. Chicago went down in order in the bottom half on a flyout by Randal Grichuk, a groundout by Tommy Pham and a groundout by Munetaka Murakami. In the second, Kyle Karros struck out before Adael Amador singled to right, but Troy Johnston lined into a double play. The White Sox got a double from Sam Antonacci in the bottom half, but Braden Montgomery struck out and Colson Montgomery flied out to center.

Colorado struck first in the top of the third. Jordan Beck singled and Ezequiel Tovar followed with a single, putting runners on first and second. Jake McCarthy then moved both runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt, and Connor Norby drove in Beck with a sacrifice fly to left. Anthony Kay intentionally walked Hunter Goodman, but he escaped further damage when Cole Carrigg grounded out to short.

The White Sox responded in the bottom half. Luisangel Acuña singled to center, and after Drew Romo popped out, Randal Grichuk lined a two-run homer to left field. Tommy Pham popped out, but Munetaka Murakami kept the inning alive with a double to center. Brenton Doyle then hit a two-run homer to left, scoring Murakami and giving Chicago a 4-1 lead. Sam Antonacci was hit by a pitch and Braden Montgomery singled before Colson Montgomery grounded out to end the inning.

Kay settled in after that. He pitched around a leadoff single by Kyle Karros in the fourth, getting a force out and a strikeout before walking Jordan Beck. Ezequiel Tovar grounded into a force out to end the threat. In the fifth, Kay hit Connor Norby with a pitch but erased him on a double play grounder by Hunter Goodman. Kay finished with five innings, five hits, one earned run, two walks and four strikeouts. His previous start had been rougher, a four-inning outing at Kansas City in which he allowed four earned runs on seven hits with one walk and four strikeouts. Before that, he had thrown four scoreless innings at Cleveland, giving up two hits and two walks with three strikeouts.

Sean Newcomb recorded two outs in relief, allowing no hits and one walk while striking out two. Richards then took over and delivered 3 1/3 innings, yielding one earned run on one hit with three strikeouts. He earned his second save of the season. Richards retired the side in order in the seventh, allowed Carrigg’s solo homer in the eighth and closed out the ninth after the blast had cut the lead to two.

Colorado’s bullpen did its part to keep the game close. After Freeland departed, Mark Manfredi pitched two hitless innings with one strikeout. Nick Frasso followed with a perfect inning and one strikeout. Jaden Hill allowed one hit in a scoreless inning while striking out two. The Rockies’ bullpen kept Chicago off the scoreboard after the third, but the offense could not complete the comeback.

The Rockies finished with six hits. Norby had the sacrifice fly, while Beck singled and walked. Tovar singled, Karros singled, and Adael Amador singled and walked. Carrigg’s eighth-inning homer to right field brought Colorado within 4-2. In the ninth, Amador popped out to catcher Drew Romo in foul territory, Troy Johnston struck out swinging, and Jordan Beck struck out swinging to end the game.

Chicago finished with eight hits. Grichuk went 1 for 3 with a home run and two RBIs. Doyle went 1 for 4 with a home run and two RBIs. Murakami doubled and scored. Acuña singled and scored. Sam Antonacci doubled and singled, and Braden Montgomery added a single. Romo doubled in the fourth, but he was thrown out at third on a fielder’s choice that included a rundown involving Ezequiel Tovar, Kyle Karros, Adael Amador and back to Tovar. The White Sox also got a hit by pitch from Antonacci in the third and an error-aided runner in the sixth when Acuña reached on a throwing error by Tovar.

Trevor Richards’ long save helped Chicago protect the lead. He entered after Newcomb’s two outs and kept Colorado’s bats quiet until Carrigg connected in the eighth. Richards then returned for the ninth and struck out two of the final three batters, with Amador’s popout sandwiched between the strikeouts of Johnston and Beck.

The win gave Chicago its 85th victory of the season against 79 losses. Colorado’s defeat dropped the Rockies to 60-104. The White Sox won the series after Colorado had taken the middle game 9-6. Chicago had won the opener 6-1.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Colorado Rockies 2, Chicago White Sox 7. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Chi. White Sox with a 68.1 percent probability to win. Chi. White Sox had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The total score of 6 went over the over/under line of 9.