5 takeaways: White Sox beat Astros in wild card series

The White Sox have won a playoff series for the first time since 2005, and they have advanced to the American League Division Series for the first time since 2021.

The South Siders swept their best-of-three wild card series with the Houston Astros this week, winning Game 1, 6-3, on Tuesday and then prevailing 7-3 in Game 2 on Wednesday.

Here are five takeaways from this series:

1. Fast starts pay off. The Sox became the first team in baseball history to lead at the end of every inning in a multi-game postseason series. In Game 1, they scored one run in the first inning and two more in the second to take an early 3-0 lead. They eventually built a 5-0 lead they would never relinquish. In Game 2, the Sox scored four runs in the first, and while the Astros cut it to 4-3 at one point, they could never tie it.

It's a funny thing: I'm more nervous watching the Sox when they are ahead than when they are behind. I'm always thinking, "Please don't blow it." But despite the tension I personally feel, for the team itself, it is a better to play with a lead 100% of the time. We all know that comebacks can and do happen, but it's hard when you're trailing all the time. In this series, the Astros were constantly fighting uphill, and they could never get to the top of that hill.

2. Chase Meidroth delivers the biggest hit. In my last blog, I noted that Meidroth's step forward to legitimate everyday second baseman was one of the biggest positive developments for the Sox this season. On Wednesday, he delivered the biggest hit of his career thus far and -- in my estimation -- the biggest home run in Sox history since Jim Thome won the AL Central title for the Sox on Sept. 30, 2008.

This home run occurred 18 years later to the day. The Astros had cut the Sox lead from four runs to one when Meidroth stepped to the plate with two men on in the top of the sixth. Houston brought in its best right-handed reliever, Bryan Abreu, to face Meidroth. But Abreu fell behind in the count 3-1, and he left a slider in the middle of home plate. Meidroth capitalized with a 3-run blast to left-center that restored a four-run lead for the Sox. It would turn out to be the last run-scoring hit of the series -- a fatal blow to the Astros' hopes.

3. Jordan Hicks steps up. One of the questions I had going into the series was, could another right-handed reliever other than Grant Taylor step forward to help the Sox? The answer was yes, and Hicks was that guy. Hicks was a middle-tier reliever for the Sox this season, going 3-2 with a 3.94 ERA in 53 appearances. Respectable, but nothing earth-shattering.

But in this series, Hicks appeared in both games and was effective both times. He totaled 3.1 innings over those two appearances, retiring all 10 batters he faced, four of them by strikeout. He earned the win in Game 1, but his ability to cover two innings in Game 2 while pitching in back-to-back games was most impressive. Hicks has always had good velocity. He was firing 100-101 mph in Houston, and he was consistently in the zone. Astros hitters had no answers.

4. Miguel Vargas struggles at the plate rendered moot. The Sox won this series with minimal contributions from their best offensive player. Vargas went 0 for 9 with three strikeouts, one walk and one run scored. It didn't matter because the Sox got something from almost everyone else in a team offensive performance.

Meidroth was the biggest bat, going 4 for 7. But several players had multiple hits in the series -- Kyle Teel, Sam Antonacci, Randal Grichuk, Tristan Peters, Braden Montgomery. Heck, Colson Montgomery even got in on the fun a little. The slumping shortstop had only one hit, but at least it was a solo home run in Game 1. Obviously, the Sox will need Vargas in the next round, but they papered over his lack of production in this round nicely.

5. Sweep gives the pitching staff a break. Next up for the Sox is the ALDS against the Cleveland Guardians, who received a bye through the first round. The Guardians have had a week off, and they'll be able to set up their pitching as they wish. The Sox do not have that luxury, at least not entirely, but finishing this Houston series in two games is beneficial. With no game Thursday or Friday, every pitcher will have at least two days of rest before Game 1 on Saturday in Cleveland.

Davis Martin, Noah Schultz and Bryan Hudson did not pitch at all in Houston. And while Taylor threw a season-high 54 pitches to record the final seven outs and secure the Game 1 victory, he did not need to pitch in Game 2, and he will have three days of rest before Cleveland. Ditto Hagen Smith, who tossed 38 pitches in three innings of work in the Game 1 win. Taylor and Smith are the most dynamic arms the Sox have, and both should be available for multiple innings of work Saturday, if needed.

Here's the schedule for the ALDS:

Game 1: Saturday, Oct. 3 at Cleveland, noon

Game 2: Monday, Oct. 5 at Cleveland, 4 p.m.

Game 3: Wednesday, Oct. 7 at Chicago, 3 p.m.

*Game 4: Thursday, Oct. 8 at Chicago, 4 p.m.

*Game 5: Saturday, Oct. 10 at Cleveland, 4 p.m.

*if necessary

I'll be at the ballpark Wednesday. If you're going, see you there. Go Sox!

White Sox are wild card-bound; what went right, what went wrong

The last time I blogged, the White Sox had 19 games remaining in the season. They went 9-10. Not great, but not bad either.

Unfortunately, the Cleveland Guardians went 12-5, good enough to finish 85-77 -- one game ahead of the Sox, who finished 84-78.

The good news for the Sox: They are still going to the playoffs as the last wild card team in the American League. It's their first playoff berth since they won the AL Central in 2021. And it's a 24-win improvement over last season, when they finished 60-102.

Also, the wild card series is a winnable one. The Sox will take on the Houston Astros, who won the AL West with an 81-81 record.

This series could go either way, but it's definitely a fair fight. Now that the regular season is over, let's reflect back on five things that went right for the Sox this year:

1. Miguel Vargas breakout. Vargas batted .250/.363/.474 with 33 homers, 93 RBIs, 31 doubles, 22 stolen bases, 106 runs scored and 101 walks. He's the first player in Sox history to have 30-plus homers, 30-plus doubles, 20-plus steals and 100-plus runs scored in the same season. He's been the best player on this team, the most consistent player, from start to finish. And since the Sox are in the playoffs, he deserves some down-ballot votes for AL MVP.

2. Tristan Peters solidifies the outfield. Peters appeared in 156 of the 162 games this season, most of them in center field. Let me say that again: 156 games. It takes Luis Robert Jr. about three seasons to be available for that many games. Before this season, Peters was 0 for 12 in four games in MLB. This season, he batted .265/.337/.437 with 12 homers, 31 doubles and 56 RBIs. More importantly, he played above-average defense at a middle-of-the-diamond position. He even made the All-Star team.

3. Grichuk/Benintendi DH platoon. Randal Grichuk hit his 15th homer of the season in Sunday's 4-2 win over the Colorado Rockies. Andrew Benintendi also had 15 homers this season, so essentially, the Sox used two players to get 30 homers and 124 RBIs out of a DH platoon. Benintendi totaled 78 RBIs as the left-handed part of that platoon, while Grichuk produced 44 RBIs. 

4. Murakami's power. There were some ups and downs for Munetaka Murakami in his rookie season. He was good the first two months, good enough to make the All-Star team, and then he missed six weeks with a hamstring injury. Then he struggled for a good chunk of the second half, although he has come on the last 10 days of the season. He has four homers and 11 RBIs in his past 10 games, during which the Sox went 7-3. Yes, the strikeout totals are high at 196 for the year. But is anyone complaining about a team-high 35 homers, a .347 OBP and a .478 slugging percentage? I think you take that from your first baseman.

5. Chase Meidroth's improvement. The Sox haven't had the same Opening Day starter at second base two years in a row since Tadahito Iguchi. Meidroth appears poised to end that streak next season, as he posted a 4.5 bWAR season, second on the team only to Vargas. Meidroth finishes the season at .276/.350/.415 with 16 homers, 63 RBIs, 31 doubles, 90 runs scored and a chance to be a finalist for a Gold Glove at second base. For the third player acquired in the Garrett Crochet trade with Boston, this is a pleasant development.

When you finish one game out of the division lead, there's always a few things you wish could have gone a little bit better. After all, the Sox were one win away from getting a bye into the AL Division Series. Here are five of those things:

1. Shane Smith's fall into oblivion. Remember the Sox Opening Day starter? Smith was the feel-good story of the 2025 season, the former Rule 5 draft pick who established himself as a rotation stalwart. Or so we thought. Smith got lit up by the Milwaukee Brewers in that first game. He made three starts, losing two, and posting a 10.80 ERA before being optioned to Triple-A Charlotte. Between injury and poor performance, he never made it back to Chicago in 2026 after those first three terrible starts.

2. Catching situation becomes a mess. The Sox felt so confident in their catching situation that they made a bobblehead out of Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero. Alas, Teel got hurt in the World Baseball Classic, and two separate stints on the injured list limited him to 39 games and a .697 OPS. Quero was healthy, but his struggles kept him shuttling between Chicago and Charlotte throughout the year. He batted just .203 with a .540 OPS in 69 games. Drew Romo ended up catching 61 games for the Sox, during which he batted .144. Yuck. Reese McGuire, Joey Bart and Jake Rogers also spent time on this roster. None were very good. Fortunately, Teel is healthy for the playoffs.

3. Costly September losing streak. From Sept. 2 to Sept. 16, the Sox lost 10 out of 14 games. The stretch included a ghastly sweep at the hands of the Pittsburgh Pirates, and losing two out of three to the also-ran St. Louis Cardinals. In fact, a ninth-inning homer by Grichuk -- with two outs and two strikes -- was the only thing that saved the Sox from being swept in St. Louis. That stretch of bad ball concluded with the Sox losing two out of three at Cleveland, and well, when you lose a division by one game, that series looms large. In the second game of that series, the Sox led 6-5 in the bottom of the ninth. They were one strike from victory. They lost 7-6. Ultimately, that two-game swing flipped the division.

4. Colson Montgomery's late-season fade. Remember early in the season? We were talking about Montgomery being one of the best shortstops in the league, along with Bobby Witt. We were talking about him being the clear best shortstop in Chicago, ahead of the North Side's Dansby Swanson. That all turned to dust the second half of the season. Montgomery totaled 31 homers and 87 RBIs, yes, and that's good for a middle infielder. But he also set a MLB record for strikeouts in a season with 227. And in September? Montgomery went 8 for 81 with 42 strikeouts. Good grief.

5. Rough trade deadline. The Sox have a host of first- and second-year players on the roster, and they definitely could have used some veteran midseason reinforcements. They didn't really get them, although Huascar Brazoban and Brenton Doyle are making a late push to try to salvage the situation. After being initially ineffective and missing nearly a month with a lat strain, Brazoban is unscored upon in his past four relief appearances since coming off the injured list. Doyle is 12 for 35 with three homers in his past 11 games. Like Grichuk, he homered in Sunday's season finale. The other two trade deadline acquisitions, Bart and Luis Castillo, the less said the better. Bart got hit by a pitch the first week he was with the Sox and hasn't played since. Castillo is 1-2 with an 8.42 ERA in nine appearances since joining the team. He's now on the injured list, so his "playoff experience" has been worthless.

Next stop, Houston. The wild card series is scheduled for Tuesday through Thursday, with all three games at 4 p.m. Games will be televised on NBC Sports Network and Peacock. If you are a Comcast subscriber in the Chicago area, NBC Sports Network is on Channel 1211.

2 out of 3 all White Sox needed vs. Twins

The White Sox missed an opportunity to sweep the Minnesota Twins on Sunday. But given the circumstances, winning two games out of three is good enough.

The Sox arrived in Minnesota with a 2.5-game lead over the Cleveland Guardians in the American League Central Division, and a 6.5-game lead over the Twins.

They exit Minneapolis leading the Guardians by 3.5 games, and the Twins by 7.5 games. And, there are three more games off the schedule.

The Sox stand at 72-64 with 26 games remaining. Here's a look back at the weekend that was:

Friday, Aug. 28

White Sox 7, Twins 4: Minnesota starter Dean Kremer entered Friday's game with a 4-0 record and a 1.53 lifetime ERA in five starts against the Sox. In those games, he had allowed only five runs combined. But in this game, the Sox knocked him around for six runs in the first four innings.

Colson Montgomery's 3-run homer highlighted a four-run first inning, and Andrew Benintendi went 2 for 4 with an RBI single and an RBI double.

Sox starter Luis Castillo struggled once again, allowing four earned runs over four innings. The veteran right-hander has a lousy 6.45 ERA over his first five starts with the South Siders.

Fortunately for Castillo, the Sox bullpen fired five shutout innings. Grant Taylor (7-2) worked a career-high 2.2 innings with three strikeouts to get the win. Bryan Hudson pitched around two singles in the bottom of the ninth to earn his sixth save of the season.

Saturday, Aug. 29

White Sox 3, Twins 2: Benintendi didn't win this game singlehandedly, but he provided all the offense the Sox would need. The South Siders totaled only three hits in this game, but Benintendi had all three of them.

In the first inning, he singled home Sam Antonacci, who led off the game with a walk. In the fourth inning, he doubled and later scored on an error by Minnesota shortstop Kaelen Culpepper. And with the score tied 2-2 in the sixth, Benintendi connected for his 14th homer of the season to provide the margin of victory.

That made a winner of Erick Fedde (7-8), who tossed five innings of two-run ball. He struck out four and walked two. The bullpen once again was strong, with Sean Ncwcomb tossing three scoreless innings, nursing that 3-2 lead from the sixth inning through the eighth. Hudson worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his seventh save of the season.

Sunday, Aug. 30

Twins 5, White Sox 1: Zebby Matthews (9-8) had perhaps the best start of his career for the Twins. He retired the first 17 batters he faced before Drew Romo broke up his perfect game with a two-out single in the top of the sixth.

Matthews went on to throw 8.1 innings, allowing only one run on five hits. He struck out five and walked nobody. This was pretty darn close to being a shutout. The Sox didn't score until there were two outs in the ninth, when Braden Montgomery singled off Twins reliever Jeff Hoffman to allow one of Matthews' inherited runners to score.

The Twins scored three runs in the first inning off the combination of opener Jordan Hicks (2-2) and Tyler Gilbert. Hicks was charged with all three runs on one hit, as he got himself in trouble with a pair of walks. 

It's been an up-and-down season for Hicks, who was unscored upon in 15 straight outings from June 21 through Aug. 1. Alas, he's been touched up for nine runs in his past nine appearances, including six runs in his past two outings. It might be time to demote him back to low leverage until he regains command of the strike zone.

Jose Urquidy pitched well in the bulk role for the Sox, allowing one earned run on three hits over five innings of relief. That saves the bullpen for the next series.

Up next for the Sox: four games in Houston, starting Monday night against the Astros.

White Sox (finally) win a road series

The White Sox on Tuesday clinched their first road series win since the first weekend in May, beating the Baltimore Orioles, 9-3, at Camden Yards.

The victory comes on the heels of an 8-2 win on Monday, and it moves the Sox to 17-25 on the road. This team has been strong at home, as evidenced by a 28-14 record at Rate Field, but they really do need to find more wins on the road.

Consider this a good first step. The last road series win was May 1-3 at San Diego, so the Sox were due.

On Tuesday, they scored seven runs in the third inning. The key hits were a two-run homer by Colson Montgomery, a two-run single by Jacob Gonzalez and a three-run homer by Junior Perez.

Gonzalez has been on a rampage of late. In this game, he was 3 for 5 with three RBIs. Over his past six games, he's 11 for 24 with a homer and 10 RBIs.

He's not Munetaka Murakami, but Gonzalez has done a respectable job of filling in at first base for the Japanese slugger, who has been out since May 29 with a hamstring strain.

Once Murakami comes back from the injured list, I've heard some Sox fans suggest that Gonzalez will be a "trade chip" to acquire help for the pitching staff.

While I agree that pitching help is needed, I think it would be prudent to keep Gonzalez. Did we learn nothing from the Rick Hahn-era White Sox? Gonzalez can play literally every spot on the infield, and he's a great insurance policy should the Sox have another injury sometime in 2026 -- and we all know injuries happen over 162 games.

Right now, the Sox have more decent hitters than spots in the lineup. That's the first time we can say that in years. Let's keep it that way.

Erick Fedde (3-6) picked up the win Tuesday night, allowing three runs over five innings. Tyler Schweitzer worked four scoreless innings for his first career save.

This marks the first time the Sox have had a reliever pitch four innings for a save since Matt Ginter on May 7, 2002. 

Unfortunately for Schweitzer, I think he's likely headed back to Triple-A to make room for Noah Schultz's return to the roster Wednesday. Schultz is expected to make the start as the Sox go for the sweep.

The Sox finish June with a 13-12 record, on the heels of their 18-10 record in May. This is notable because the Sox haven't had back-to-back winning months since the 2021 season, when they last won the American League Central.

The Sox are 45-39 overall, and they'll take a two-game lead in the AL Central into July. 

David Sandlin's second start goes poorly vs. Twins

David Sandlin's first major league start against the Minnesota Twins couldn't have gone better last week. What would he do for an encore Monday night? 

Well, I'm sorry to report Sandlin's second outing was pretty much a disaster. Five days after limiting the Twins to only one hit over six innings, this time the White Sox rookie right-hander got hit around for eight earned runs in four-plus innings.

The Sox saw their five-game winning streak come to an end with a 9-6 loss at Target Field. 

What was different for Sandlin (1-1) this time? Walks and a lot of traffic on the bases. In his previous outing, he retired the final 18 batters he faced and never threw a single pitch out of the stretch. He walked nobody. On Monday, Sandlin walked four and surrendered eight hits. He was on his heels in almost every inning he pitched.

Despite the high score, believe it or not, this was a 1-1 game into the bottom of the fourth. That's when Minnesota's No. 9 batter, Tristan Gray, took Sandlin deep for a two-out grand slam that made the score 5-1.

That could have been a fatal blow to the Sox, but they answered quickly with three runs in the fifth. Miguel Vargas hit a two-run homer, and Andrew Benintendi followed with a solo homer to make it 5-4.

Suddenly, Sandlin had a new lease on life. Alas, he loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the fifth on a single and two walks. That would be the end of his night, and Tyler Davis allowed all three of his inherited runners to score -- plus one more run -- and the Twins were in full control of the game at 9-4 headed to the sixth inning.

The score stayed that way until the ninth inning, when Vargas delivered his second two-run homer of the night to make it 9-6. However, the Sox could get no closer.

Vargas is up to 15 homers, tied with Colson Montgomery for second on the team, but poor pitching doomed the Sox on this night.

The Sox are 32-28. They fall 1.5 games back of the idle Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central. 

Munetaka Murakami injured, but White Sox sweep Tigers

White Sox slugger Munetaka Murakami will miss four to six weeks with a Grade 2 hamstring strain, which he suffered Friday night in a game against the Detroit Tigers at Rate Field.

It's not great news, especially knowing June features perhaps the toughest stretch of schedule the Sox will face all season long -- including games against the Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees and Cleveland Guardians.

However, the Sox survived Murakami's absence just fine over the weekend, sweeping the series from the last-place Tigers. Here's a look back at the weekend that was:

Friday, May 29

White Sox 4, Tigers 3, 10 innings.  Miguel Vargas got a high changeup from Detroit reliever Drew Anderson and cranked a two-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning to turn a 3-2 Tigers lead into a 4-3 Sox victory.

The Sox trailed 2-1 from the third inning until the bottom of the ninth, when they scratched across the tying run against Detroit reliever Kyle Finnegan. Back-to-back singles by Andrew Benintendi and Tristan Peters placed runners at first and third with one out.

Rikuu Nishida's safety squeeze bunt was fielded by Finnegan, and while he looked at Benintendi, he didn't force the Sox baserunner to go back to third. As soon as Finnegan threw to first to retire Nishida, Benintendi broke for the plate, and he slid safely ahead of a throw from Detroit first baseman Spencer Torkelson to tie the game.

The Tigers took a 3-2 lead in the top of the 10th, with a sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly, but Anderson failed to make the lead stick. Detroit went 6-22 in the month of May. That team is finding new ways to lose. 

Saturday, May 30

White Sox 7, Tigers 1. There wasn't as much drama in this game, as the Sox scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning and led from start to finish.

Sox starter Anthony Kay (5-1) made the lead stick through the first half of the game by pitching five innings of one-run ball. The South Siders blew the game wide open late, with two runs in the seventh inning and three more in the eighth.

Edgar Quero, Colson Montgomery and Benintendi all homered in the late innings to help put the game away. Quero went 2 for 3 with a sacrifice fly, and he's pulled his batting average up to .196 after an absolutely terrible start to the season.

The Sox got four innings of scoreless work from their bullpen. Grant Taylor entered with two men on and no outs in the top of the sixth. He stranded both runners, and then struck out the side in the seventh. Seranthony Dominguez tossed a scoreless eighth. Trevor Richards mopped up in the ninth.

Sunday, May 31

White Sox 2, Tigers 1. Detroit starter Keider Montero cruised through the first six innings, needing only 65 pitches as he held the Sox scoreless on two hits. But then the Tigers took him out of the game and put in ... Anderson.

Thank you very much.

The Sox handed Anderson his second loss of the series by collecting four straight hits in the bottom of the seventh. Montgomery hit his 15th homer of the season to tie the game at 1. Chase Meidroth, Jacob Gonzalez and Peters followed with three straight singles, the last of which scored Meidroth and put the Sox ahead to stay at 2-1.

Bryan Hudson covered four outs, and then Tyler Davis retired two batters in the top of the ninth to earn his first save as a member of the Sox. 

The Sox are 21-10 in their last 31 games and 32-27 for the season. The Guardians lost two of three to the Boston Red Sox over the weekend, which moves the Sox within one game of Cleveland in the AL Central.

Next up, three games in Minneapolis against the Minnesota Twins. 

White Sox pitcher David Sandlin dominates Twins in MLB debut

David Sandlin's first major league start probably couldn't have started much worse. The second pitch of his career got knocked out the park by Minnesota's Byron Buxton.

After that? Sandlin probably couldn't have done much better. He was outstanding, retiring the next 18 batters he faced to earn his first career victory as the White Sox throttled the Twins, 15-2, on Wednesday at Rate Field.

Yesterday, I said Sandlin would probably go five innings or 75 pitches, whichever came first. Ha! Shows what I know.

The 25-year-old right-hander needed only 61 pitches to get through six innings. He struck out four, walked nobody and threw 41 of those 61 pitches for strikes. He got seven swing-and-misses, and his fastball topped out at 99 mph. When Sandlin walked off the mound after the top of the sixth, he left with a comfortable 9-1 lead.

There are few Sox debuts this successful. Even a cynical fan like me thought this performance was awesome.

The Sox offense had a great game, too, as they pummeled Minnesota pitching for 15 runs on 18 hits. They had two five-run innings, one in the fifth and one in the seventh.

The seventh inning featured back-to-back home runs by Chase Meidroth and Munetaka Murakami. For Meidroth, it was his fifth homer of the season and first career grand slam. For Murakami, the solo shot was his 20th homer of the season. That leads the American League, and it's the most home runs by a rookie before June in MLB history.

Murakami has homered in all three games of this Minnesota series. On Wednesday, he was 2 for 4 with three runs scored. There's really no question that his addition has completely changed the complexion of the Sox lineup.

Sam Antonacci went 3 for 4 with two runs scored and three RBIs, including a two-run single in the second inning that erased the early 1-0 Minnesota lead and put the Sox ahead to stay. Randal Grichuk was 3 for 5 with two RBIs.

Meidroth, Colson Montgomery and Tristan Peters also had two-hit games for the Sox, who improve to 28-27, maintain second place and stay 3.5 games back of the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central.

Game 4 of this series is Thursday afternoon, with the Sox hoping for a series win, and the Twins looking to salvage a split. 

Angels snap White Sox back to reality

There was a moment Tuesday night when it looked as though the White Sox might take sole possession of first place in the pillow fight known as the AL Central.

The Detroit Tigers had lost to the Boston Red Sox. The Cleveland Guardians had lost to the Kansas City Royals. Both Detroit and Cleveland had fallen to 18-19, and with a win over the Los Angeles Angels, the Sox could have gotten to 18-18 and leapfrogged them both.

The Sox even took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning.

Ha! You didn't really think that was going to happen, did you? If the Sox had taken over first place, I would have been worried about the Earth possibly spinning off its axis.

The Sox left the bases loaded in the ninth inning and lost the game, 4-3. I wouldn't say they should have won it, but they most certainly could have.

With runners on first and third and one out in the ninth, Colson Montgomery got a 2-0 fastball right in the middle of home plate and fouled it off. The at-bat continued, and Montgomery fanned on a hanging slider for the second out.

Jarred Kelenic also got a hanging slider moments later, but he fouled it off. Any of those three pitches -- two to Montgomery and one to Kelenic -- could have been put in play hard and likely tied or won the game for the Sox. 

While Kelenic eventually worked a walk to load the bases, the game found Edgar Quero, who is batting .154 this season. Quero grounded out to second to end the game.

Most of us were probably hoping the Sox would bounce back in the series finale Wednesday afternoon. Alas, it was a bad day for starting pitcher Noah Schultz, and the defense behind him wasn't especially good.

The Angels shellacked the Sox, 8-2. 

The Guardians beat the Royals on Wednesday night, so they are now in first place at 19-19. The Tigers lost to the Red Sox again. They are 18-20. The Sox and Royals are tied for third at 17-20, 1.5 games back. The Minnesota Twins are last at 16-21.  

Like I said, a pillow fight. 

The Sox finished their road trip 3-3, which honestly is about what you'd expect. It just came in a different shape than maybe I expected. I figured they'd lose two of three in San Diego, and beat the Angels two of three.

It turned out to be the exact opposite. That's baseball for you. 

White Sox 'settle' for 2 out of 3 at San Diego

The San Diego Padres are 20-13 this season, so I can't complain about the White Sox taking two out of three at Petco Park over the weekend.

The results of this series are disappointing only in the sense that the Sox won the first two and had a legitimate chance to sweep on Sunday. Alas, the Padres scored late to salvage the final game, and the Sox saw their season-best five-game winning streak come to an end.

Here's a look back at what has to be considered a successful weekend for the Sox:

Friday, May 1

White Sox 8, Padres 2. Munetaka Murakami's 3-run homer capped a six-run second inning that put the Sox in full command of the series opener. It was the Japanese slugger's 13th home run of the season, and he concludes the weekend's action tied for the American League lead in that category with reigning league MVP Aaron Judge.

The run support helped rookie lefty Noah Schultz settle down. Schultz (2-1) walked the bases loaded in the bottom of the first and needed 29 pitches to get through the inning. But after being staked to a 6-0 lead, he only needed 58 pitches to get through the next five innings. When his outing was over, he had thrown six shutout innings, allowing just two hits. He did not walk another batter from the second inning on.

Colson Montgomery hit his ninth home run of the season for the Sox, and Sam Antonacci went 2 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored.

Saturday, May 2

White Sox 4, Padres 0. Sox right-hander Sean Burke matched zeroes with San Diego's Michael King until the South Siders finally broke a scoreless tie in the top of the sixth.

With runners on second and third and two outs, Miguel Vargas blooped a two-run single into shallow right field to give the Sox the only two runs they would need. The Sox added two more runs in the seventh on an RBI single by Edgar Quero and a safety squeeze by Tristan Peters.

Burke (2-2) was unscored upon for his second consecutive outing. He struck out eight over six innings, allowing four hits with only one walk.

San Diego loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth, but Seranthony Dominguez entered the game in relief of Grant Taylor to get two outs and record his eighth save of the season. This is notable because no Sox pitcher recorded more than seven saves for the entirety of the 2025 campaign. 

Sunday, May 3

Padres 4, White Sox 3. With runners on second and third and two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, San Diego shortstop Xander Bogaerts hit a check-swing roller up the third-base line for an infield single that plated the go-ahead run for the Padres.

The Sox got the tying run to second base in the top of the ninth when Peters singled and stole second, but San Diego closer Mason Miller fanned Luisangel Acuna on three pitches to earn his 11th save of the season. 

The Padres grabbed a 3-1 lead with three runs in the fourth off Sox starter Anthony Kay. Luis Andujar and Manny Machado each homered during the San Diego rally. The Sox answered in the seventh when Derek Hill hit his second homer of the season, a 2-run shot, to tie it at 3.

Alas, Sox reliever Tyler Davis (0-1) issued a leadoff walk in the bottom of the eighth, and that runner ended up scoring when Bryan Hudson gave up the infield single to Bogaerts.

Drew Romo also homered for the Sox, his third of the season. Kay pitched five innings, allowing three runs on seven hits. He stuck out five and walked one. 

The Sox are 16-18. They had to Anaheim for a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels, starting Monday night. 

5 White Sox players off to decent-to-good starts

Even after beating the Athletics two games out of three over the weekend in Sacramento, the White Sox are 8-14.

I don't think the organization is pleased with this start, although it shouldn't be surprising given the subpar nature of the roster. There are, however, some glimmers of hope.

In a rare moment of positivity, I present five Sox players who are off to decent-to-good starts in 2026:

1. Davis Martin. The right-hander has 37.5% of the Sox wins, having gone 3-1 with a 2.16 ERA in his first four starts. Even in his one loss, Martin tossed seven innings of two-run ball -- he just didn't get any run support in that game. In his most recent start, Martin again went seven innings, allowing only one run in a 9-2 win Friday over the Athletics. He leads the team in innings pitched (25), strikeouts (19) and bWAR (1.1).

2. Munetaka Murakami. The comparisons to Kyle Schwarber have started. Perhaps that's a little premature, as the rookie from Japan only has 22 games under his belt. But much like Schwarber, Murakami has been a productive three-true-outcome hitter to this point. He homered in all three games of the series against the Athletics, increasing his team-best total to eight. Murakami is batting only .208, but he leads the Sox in walks (20), RBIs (16), on-base percentage (.376) and ranks second in slugging percentage (.542). Sure, he's struck out 31 times in 93 plate appearances, but his .918 OPS and 161 OPS+ are exactly what the Sox were hoping to see. 

3. Noah Schultz. The rookie posted three dominant starts at Triple-A Charlotte to force his way into the majors. The left-hander's first MLB start was shaky -- more specifically, his first inning was shaky as he gave up three runs in an 8-5 loss to Tampa Bay. But Schultz has allowed only two runs in the 8.1 innings since, and he picked up his first career victory Sunday, when he limited the Athletics to just one hit over five innings in a 7-4 win. Schultz is 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA since joining the Sox, with 10 strikeouts and five walks in 9.1 innings pitched. 

4. Everson Pereira. The 25-year-old outfielder is the one reclamation project on this roster who has shown us something in the early going. Pereira has dealt with injuries this season, including an ankle problem that kept him on the shelf for the first two weeks of April. But since rejoining the lineup on April 14, Pereira has gone 7 for 21 with three doubles, two home runs and four RBIs. He has struck out 12 times in only 37 plate appearances, so there's plenty of swing-and-miss in his game. But the contact has been loud, as evidenced by his .297/.366/.649 slash line. It's a small sample, but that slugging percentage leads the team.  

5. Colson Montgomery. Despite the weird-looking offensive profile, Montgomery leads Sox position players in bWAR at 0.7. Some of that has to do with his defense at shortstop, where he has not yet committed an error this season. Give Montgomery credit for his glove. Throughout his pro career, he's faced questions about whether he can stick at shortstop. He may not win a Gold Glove anytime soon, but his defense has been more than serviceable. His slash line is at .200/.318/.453, with five homers, four doubles and 13 RBIs. He still strikes out a lot, 28 times in 88 plate appearances. But if Montgomery continues to post a 120 OPS+ with above-average defense at short, can we really complain? I would say no.

Up next for the Sox: three games at Arizona, starting Tuesday night at 8:40 Central. 

Orioles snap modest White Sox winning streak

It's too cold to hit. Boo hoo hoo.

Or maybe the White Sox were just due to lose after their surprising three-game sweep of the defending American League champion Toronto Blue Jays over the weekend.

The Sox outscored Toronto 14-7 in their three weekend victories, but they were limited to only four hits Monday in a 2-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles at Rate Field. 

(Sidebar: The Blue Jays lost 14-2 to the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday, so perhaps Toronto is in a slump right now.)

One trend that's emerging for the Sox: the use of Grant Taylor as an opener. The right-hander has started three of the four games on the homestand, working a scoreless first inning each time.

In his two starts against Toronto, Taylor needed only nine pitches to get three outs both times. On Monday, he worked around a leadoff double by Baltimore's Taylor Ward.

If it isn't broke, don't fix it? Or maybe give Taylor two innings, if he's efficient in his first inning and the team thinks his future is as a starting pitcher.

Erick Fedde (0-2) pitched well over six innings on Monday, as well, allowing two runs. But that was enough to get him beat on a night when the Sox didn't do much of anything offensively.

Baltimore starter Brandon Young (1-0) was 1-7 with a 6.24 ERA in his previous 12 career starts, but he tossed five shutout innings against the Sox. He allowed only two hits and two walks, while striking out two.

It wasn't until the ninth inning that the Sox threatened. They scored their only run off Baltimore closer Ryan Helsley, who hung over for his third save of the season.

Munetaka Murakami and Miguel Vargas worked back-to-back walks to start the ninth. They advanced to third on a groundout by Colson Montgomery. Pinch-hitter Lenyn Sosa grounded out, scoring Murakami for the lone Sox run of the game.

An infield single by Andrew Benintendi moved Vargas to third, but with two outs and runners at the corners. Helsely struck out Edgar Quero to end the game.

The Sox lost left fielder Austin Hays to a strained hamstring in the fourth inning. It's fair to expect a trip to the injured list and a roster move before Tuesday's game against Baltimore, which has been moved up to 2:10 p.m. because of the unseasonable cold in Chicago. 

Not that it's going to be much warmer in the afternoon.

The Sox are 4-6. 

White Sox position players: A way-too-early projection

Last week around this time, I offered some thoughts on how the White Sox pitching staff stacks up as the calendar turns to 2026. 

There is still ample offseason remaining, and there are plenty of free agents still available. So, we're a long way from knowing who the Sox will put on the field on Opening Day. But here's a best guess on who the position players would be as we sit here the second week of January:

C: Kyle Teel. You often hear Teel's name mentioned in the same breath as Edgar Quero, but for this exercise, we need to pick one starting catcher. We'll go with Teel on the basis of his better bat -- a 121 OPS+ last season -- and the fact that he was the centerpiece of the trade return in the deal that sent Garrett Crochet to Boston. That alone makes the organization heavily invested in Teel's success.

1B: Munetaka Murakami: You probably won't see a bigger free agent outlay from the Sox this offseason, after they gave a two-year, $34 million contract to the Japanese slugger. A 25-year-old left-handed batter, Murakami once slugged 56 homers in a season, and he has 246 career home runs over eight seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball. Sure, the swing-and-miss rates are high on this player, but the Sox need power, and this was a worthwhile gamble. At least they did something!

2B: Chase Meidroth: The 24-year-old batted .253/.329/.320 in his rookie season. There isn't much power there, and Meidroth will need to improve upon the 84 OPS+ he posted last year to stick as an everyday player. He's competent at both middle infield positions, which helps his cause, although his arm is more suited to second base.

SS: Colson Montgomery: Just when I was ready to write this guy off as a prospect, he comes to the majors and slugs 21 home runs in 71 games. A .529 slugging percentage will play, but is it sustainable? Montgomery struck out 83 times in 284 plate appearances. You can live with some swing-and-miss with that kind of power, but I would like to see a little more contact this season. The good thing is Montgomery proved to me that he can play shortstop. Unlike Meidroth, he absolutely has the arm strength to play on the left side of the infield.

3B: Miguel Vargas: The acquisition of Murakami moves Vargas across the diamond to third base. The 2025 season was an up-and-down one for Vargas, but after a disastrous Sox debut in 2024, a 1.9 bWAR last year wasn't the worst possible outcome. Vargas batted .234/.316/.401 with 16 homers. You'd like to see him put the ball over the fence a little more, but he did contribute a team-high 32 doubles.

LF: Andrew Benintendi: It feels like the declining veteran has been here forever, but he's only been with the Sox three seasons. He has two years left on his contract, which feels as unmovable as ever. This is the gift from the Rick Hahn era that keeps on giving. Benintendi batted .240/.307/.431 with 20 homers last year. He's essentially a league-average offensive player. But a chronic Achilles' injury has sapped all his defensive value, and the Sox have said he might be slated for more time at DH this season.

CF: Luis Robert Jr.: He's still here! The Sox continue to value Robert Jr. as a premium trade piece, but other teams do not see him in that light. Therefore, I remain skeptical that there's any deal to be made, despite rampant trade rumors. Injuries limited Robert Jr. to 110 games last year. What else is new? He finished the year at .223/.297/.364 with 14 homers and 53 RBIs. He was playing well late in the season until a hamstring injury ended his year Aug. 26. Typical.

RF: Brooks Baldwin: I don't know what the Sox are going to do in right field. Mike Tauchman was non-tendered this offseason, and while there have been a few minor acquisitions in the outfield, none of them scream "starting right fielder" to me. We figure Baldwin will make the team and play somewhere, so let's put him in right field for now. Baldwin improved with the bat in the second half last season, hitting seven of his 11 homers and posting a .769 OPS after the All-Star break.

DH: Lenyn Sosa: What to do with Sosa? We can't ignore the fact that he led the Sox with 22 homers and 75 RBIs last season. But we also can't ignore that it only resulted in a 101 OPS+, because Sosa struck out 127 times and drew only 18 walks. We also can't ignore that Sosa doesn't play any position well. He can stand at first base or second, but he'll hurt your defense at either spot. Can they just put him at DH and hope for another 20 to 25 homers? A lot of Sox podcasters think a Sosa trade is coming, but rival GMs are aware of his shortcomings, too.

Bench

C: Quero: The 22-year-old didn't have a lot of power in his offensive profile, but you can do worse than .268/.338/.392 as a rookie. Quero has a good sense of the strike zone for a young hitter, and while his receiving behind the plate still needs work, he's pretty good at picking guys off third base. He'll at least get a couple of starts a week behind the plate, and we'll see how the Sox handle the DH spot this year. Will both Teel and Quero be in the lineup at the same time? 

INF: Curtis Mead: The 25-year-old infielder came over in a midseason trade with Tampa Bay last year, but he didn't do much with the opportunities he got in 41 games. He didn't hit a single homer in a Sox uniform -- a red flag for a corner infielder -- and batted just .240/.280/.304. Supposedly, much like Vargas the prior year, the Sox had some "offseason adjustments" they wanted Mead to make. He's out of options, so his time could be running out. But I think he's on the roster for now.

OF: Derek Hill: Somebody has got to play center field when Robert Jr. is ouchie, right? I figure that's the reason the Sox tendered the journeyman Hill a contract. The 29-year-old is on his sixth organization because he's a lifetime .229 hitter. He's not going to give you much with the bat, but hey, he can play the outfield. That's a skill. Michael A. Taylor has retired, so Hill seems to be penciled into that role for now. 

C: Korey Lee: I don't know what to do with the final bench spot, so I'll give it to the most competent guy on the 40-man roster who I haven't mentioned. That's Lee, who has a good throwing arm behind the plate and seems to work with pitchers well. Unlike other catchers, he has some base running ability, so he can be used as a pinch runner late in the game for the slow-footed Quero. And hey, if you want to DH either Teel or Quero, it's probably not a bad idea to have Lee around on the bench for catching emergencies. This probably isn't a great case for keeping Lee, but I'm not impressed with the other options.

Speaking of other options, they include outfielders Everson Pereira and Tristan Peters, and infielder Bryan Ramos. The Sox also inked post-hype prospect Jarred Kelenic to a minor league deal, so he'll be another name to watch in spring for the outfield mix.

But anyway, I'm hoping the Sox add another outfielder to the roster at some point, and then Baldwin can shift back into the utility role that best suits him. Only 76 days until the season begins. What will change between now and then? 

SoxFest boycott to continue in 2026

When the last weekend in January comes, I'll once again have the feeling that I ought to be doing something. Alas, we will once again be boycotting SoxFest on the grounds that team management is giving us a cheapened experience.

In years past, we were regulars at SoxFest. It used to be a three-day event at a downtown Chicago hotel. It was at the Hyatt. Then it was at the Palmer House. Then it was at the Hilton. In 2020, it was at McCormick Place, and we stayed at one of the adjacent hotels.

Somewhere along the line, it got reduced from three days to two, because "people want to watch the NFL." I'd rather poke my eyes out than watch an NFL game, but SoxFest was still a fun event even when it was two days.

Even if the team was expected to suck (which most of the time it did), you got to spend a weekend in January in the city, mingling with other baseball people and talking baseball with your friends. It was good for the soul.

And I'll be honest: Even though I'm no longer a season ticket holder, and even though I think the 2026 White Sox are going to be bad, if they had an old-school SoxFest like back in the day, I'd buy a weekend pass in a second.

But that's not what they're doing, and they haven't done it for a while. From 2021-23, the Sox canceled the event, hiding behind the COVID-19 excuse for two years longer than they should have.

In 2024, the Sox conducted a lame meet-and-greet for season ticket holders at the Chicago Field Museum. I mean, who wouldn't want to rub elbows with Pedro Grifol and the members of a team that was destined to go 41-121? I wasn't welcome because I had canceled my tickets, and frankly, I didn't want to go anyway.

Then last year, they gave fans a "reimagined SoxFest Live" at the "historic Ramova Theatre" in Bridgeport. That's the format this year, too, with the event scheduled for Jan. 30-31. Only season ticket holders are welcome on Friday, and apparently, the program is the exact same thing on both days.

I heard that last year, fans weren't allowed to ask their own questions of the GM and manager. Only "preapproved" questions were allowed, and broadcaster Len Kasper did all the asking.

No thanks, if I'm going to pay money for this, I want to ask my own questions -- not listen to Kasper ask Will Venable how he uses analytics. That's the equivalent of an interview you can hear on the pregame show every day during the season. This is supposed to be a fan event, so let the fans speak.

Right now, the list of players scheduled to appear is unimpressive. For what it's worth, quite a few of the guys who matter on the 2026 roster will be there: Davis Martin, Chase Meidroth, Colson Montgomery, Luis Robert Jr., Shane Smith, Grant Taylor, Kyle Teel and Miguel Vargas. Also on the list are prospects Tanner McDougal and Sam Antonacci.

But no former players? Forgive me, but us older guys like it when the players of the past come back. They have the best stories, and no longer being in the league, they tend to be more candid and less guarded than the athletes of today. 

Honestly, what's the appeal here? You want me to spend money to hang out for three hours in a small, renovated theater with no parking to hear guys respond to canned questions and recite cliches about how they hope to improve upon last year's 60-102 record?

I'll pass. Bring back the old SoxFest, and I'll come back. I promise. 

White Sox finish season at 60-102

The long slog of MLB's regular season is over, and the White Sox have finished 2025 with a 60-102 record after Sunday's 8-0 victory over the Washington Nationals.

The 60 wins represent a 19-win improvement from 2024. In baseball, such a year-over-year increase would normally be cause for thunderous applause. But when you're coming off a season in which you were the worst team in the 125-year history of modern baseball, perhaps that increase is only a modest step forward. The bar was set so low.

The Sox started September by winning eight of the first 10 games during the month. At that point, their record was 57-90, and fans were actively rooting for the team to avoid 100 losses. Alas, the Sox concluded the season with a dreadful final two weeks, dropping 12 of their last 15 games.

That sentenced them to their third consecutive 100-loss season. The franchise has lost 100 or more games in its 125-year existence only seven times. Four of those seven seasons have occurred since 2018. It's a huge indictment on everyone who has been in a decision-making role with the franchise over the past 10 to 15 years.

Although, let's be honest: If the Sox had finished 63-99, would that have been meaningfully better than going 60-102? I don't think so.

Either way, the Sox have the best odds of getting the No. 1 pick in the 2026 MLB Draft. May the lottery luck be with them, because the franchise could use a break.

The narrative around the team is surprisingly positive, with the cheerleaders on the TV broadcast and some in the podcast arena touting performances from rookie players -- including Colson Montgomery, Shane Smith, Kyle Teel, Chase Meidroth, Edgar Quero and Mike Vasil.

Indeed, each of these players showed well enough to stick in the majors after they were called up. Nobody fell flat on their faces. Nobody got sent back to the minor leagues from that group. If you've followed the Sox through the years, you know that's something.

The question is, can they do it again in 2026 when there are more expectations placed upon them?

Many people have wondered whether the improved won-loss record and the emergence of this rookie class means 2025 was a success for the Sox.

I have two thoughts on that: First, a 100-loss season is never a success. Never. It's a catastrophe. Second, that said, the losing serves a purpose if young players learn from it, grow and get better in the years ahead.

Ask me again in two years whether 2025 was a success. If all these young guys actually form the core of a contending team down the road, then yes, this could be a year that you look back on as a building block. But if all these guys regress, and this leads to nothing in particular, then we're just circling the drain over and over again. 

Fraser Ellard, Bryan Ramos join White Sox as September callups

Major League Baseball rosters expanded to 28 on Monday, with each team being allowed to add one pitcher and one position player for September.

No matter what the White Sox did, it probably wasn't going to be all that inspirational. They chose two players we've seen before: left-handed reliever Fraser Ellard and infielder Bryan Ramos.

The 27-year-old Ellard has been struggling all season. He made the Sox out of spring training, but he didn't do much with the opportunity. He appeared in eight games, going 0-2 with a 5.87 ERA. Then he got hurt. Twice. 

Ellard has since made 23 appearances at Triple-A Charlotte, where he is 2-1 with a 6.84 ERA. 

It's not great, but that didn't stop the Sox from throwing Ellard right into the fire Monday. He was used as the opener in a 6-5 win over the Minnesota Twins.

Ellard got five outs and would have completed two innings if not for an error on third baseman Curtis Mead. He was charged with an unearned run, as he walked three batters despite not allowing a hit. That said, the Sox were leading 3-0 when he walked off the mound with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the second inning. It could have been worse.

Ramos batted .202/.252/.333 in 32 games with the wretched 2024 Sox, but we hadn't seen him in Chicago this season until Monday.

His season started with an elbow injury, and when he came off the injured list in April, he slumped badly in Triple-A Charlotte. But, he has shown signs of life in the second half, and he's already on the 40-man roster, so perhaps that's why he's getting an opportunity.

Ramos is batting .218/.317/.391 with 14 homers and 46 RBIs in Charlotte this season. Not impressive, right? However, it's only fair to look at what's been happening recently:

• First half: .194/.305/.358
• Second half: .254/.336/.440 

That second half isn't anything great, but hey, it's palatable. Ramos appeared as a pinch runner in the eighth inning Monday, replacing Chase Meidroth, who had twisted an ankle earlier in the game.

Ramos ended up scoring the game-tying run on a double by Brooks Baldwin. Moments later, Mike Tauchman doubled home Baldwin as part of a two-run eighth that turned a 5-4 Sox deficit into a 6-5 win.

Some other highlights from Monday:

• Colson Montgomery hit his 16th homer of the season. He has homered in each of the four games he's played against Minnesota.
• Meidroth hit his fourth homer of the season, a two-run blast off a hanging slider from Minnesota starter Bailey Ober in the second inning.
• Jordan Leasure retired all four batters he faced for his team-leading fifth save. Yes, five saves is enough to lead the Sox bullpen.

The Sox are 50-88, and they have evened the season series with the Twins at 5-5.