White Sox’s Montgomery sets single-season strikeout record

CHICAGO — White Sox infielder Colson Montgomery set the record for most strikeouts in a season Friday after taking a third strike against Colorado Rockies pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano for Montgomery’s 224th of the season.

It breaks the mark set by former Diamondbacks infielder Mark Reynolds, who struck out 223 times in 2009.

Montgomery, 24, worked a full count before taking a fastball over the heart of the plate for the record-setting strikeout. He has a 35.5% strikeout rate this season, second worst among qualified hitters, just behind teammate Munetaka Murakami (35.6%).

Montgomery reached the dubious mark in his in his 631st plate appearance and 561st at-bat of his second season.

Similar to Reynolds, who hit 44 home runs that season, Montgomery has made good contact when he has connected. He has 31 home runs and 87 RBIs while contributing to a playoff team. But his chase and strikeout rates have gone up compared with his rookie year last season.

In his last 21 games, Montgomery is batting .085 with 37 strikeouts in 83 plate appearances to drop his season average to .199. He has six hits, including two homers and two doubles, in that span, along with eight RBIs and eight walks.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.