Luis Robert Jr. challenged what would have been an inning-ending third strike.
The call was overturned, giving the New York Mets outfielder another shot and a 2-2 count in the third-inning against Chicago White Sox starter Luis Castillo.
Two pitches later, the former Sox player hit a two-run home run.
“Good for him in that situation,” Castillo said through an interpreter. “He felt obligated to challenge the ball, and good for him that he got me right after that.”
Robert homered again in the seventh, and the Mets defeated the Sox 10-5 on Saturday in front of 30,705 at Rate Field.
“It feels good to hit homers against any team, to be honest with you,” Robert said through an interpreter to reporters covering the Mets. “I will say it did feel good to hit the home runs here just because it was a stadium that I played so many games in my whole career.”
More Top Picks Best Solar Generators For Home
Robert, whom the Sox traded to the Mets in the offseason after six years in Chicago, went 2-for-5 with the two home runs and three RBIs.
“He got us good today,” Sox manager Will Venable said.
With the loss, the first-place Sox (67-62) lead the American League Central by 3½ games over the Cleveland Guardians (64-66).
The Sox allowed five home runs, two served up by Castillo. The right-hander allowed four runs on eight hits with three strikeouts and one walk in 2 2/3 innings.
Mired in 2nd-half slump, Colson Montgomery showing signs of turning corner for Chicago White Sox
“As an athlete we have good days and bad days. It was a bad day today,” Castillo said. “They were taking good at-bats. They were hitting a lot of foul balls. I was attacking the zone. The best part is that I’m feeling good.”
He exited after throwing 80 pitches.
“Unfortunately it wasn’t my day today,” Castillo said.
Bo Bichette hit a solo home run in the third to give the Mets a 2-1 lead. Robert extended the lead to 4-1 with the two-run blast against Castillo later in the inning. A walk and single followed, and Castillo was out of the game.
“He threw strikes, just wasn’t able to finish guys,” Venable said. “A lot of counts got ahead of guys, saw two-strike counts, but they got full and ended up getting some hard contact in there and some damage.”
The Sox pulled within 4-3 in the bottom of the third. The inning included a Tristan Peters solo home run, which occurred when Carson Benge ran face-first into the fence in right field. He couldn’t hang on to the ball, which went out of his glove and trickled over the wall.
“It was funny because I thought it was a home run off the bat,” Peters said. “Then I saw he caught it and I was like, ‘Dang, I hit that one hard.’ Then I saw it go over the wall and I was pretty pumped.”
The training staff checked on Benge, who remained in the game and homered as part of a three-run fifth against reliever Tyler Schweitzer.
The Sox scored one run each in the fifth and sixth, cutting the deficit to 7-5, but they left the bases loaded in both innings. They finished 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
“Did a good job getting a lot of traffic and creating baserunners, just didn’t get that big hit,” Venable said. “Colson (Montgomery) crushes that ball just foul (in the fifth with the bases loaded before striking out to end the inning). And (Andrew Benintendi had a) good swing with the bases loaded (lining out to left to end the sixth).
“Good job creating the traffic but just didn’t get that big hit to score some runs.”
More Top Picks Best Borescopes
The Sox had nine hits and drew seven walks but left 11 runners on base.
“It’s (a) frustrating last few days,” Peters said. “We’ve been hitting some balls hard but right at people. Frustrating part of it. At the same time, I think we are in a good spot offensively.”
Robert provided some breathing room with his solo home run in the seventh against reliever Huascar Brazobán. Luis Torrens added a two-run blast in the ninth against Trevor Richards.
For Robert, it was his first multihomer game since Aug. 16, 2024, in Houston, when he played for the Sox.
“Really talented player that (if) you make mistakes to him, he’s going to hurt you,” Venable said.