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.

Braden Montgomery provides White Sox with latest signature moment

I wrote on May 5 that it might be good for the White Sox if outfield prospect Braden Montgomery made it to Chicago quickly.

Montgomery did just that, making his major league debut Tuesday night against the Atlanta Braves at Rate Field.

The early returns have been excellent. Montgomery is 4 for 9 with two doubles, a home run, two runs scored and three RBIs in his first two games -- both Sox wins over the best-in-baseball Braves (45-23).

Montgomery was the reason the Sox won Tuesday night. With two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning and the Sox trailing 5-4, he rescued the team with a two-run, walkoff homer against Atlanta closer Raisel Iglesias. The Sox prevailed, 6-5.

It's worth noting that even after that homer, Iglesias has a 1.21 ERA. He hadn't allowed a home run all season until Montgomery took him deep, and that one swing doubled his runs allowed in 2026 from two to four.

So, yes, Montgomery got it done against a quality relief pitcher.

What would he do for an encore? Well, he went 2-for-4 with doubles from both sides of the plate in a 2-1 win over the Braves on Wednesday. His first double, against future Hall of Famer Chris Sale, started a two-run rally in the fourth inning that provided the Sox all the runs they would need.

Davis Martin tossed six shutout innings to improve his record to 9-2. 

The Sox have now won 18 for their last 21 games at Rate Field to improve their season home record to 22-11. The road record still kinda stinks at 14-20, but overall the Sox are 36-31.

After Thursday night's rainout, they maintain a half-game lead over the Cleveland Guardians in the American League Central Division. This marks the first time the Sox have been in first place since the end of the 2021 season.

Also, the Sox have been providing the home fans with some signature moments in extra innings recently.

Three times within the past month, they've trailed by a run in the bottom of the 10th inning and ended up winning because somebody hit a two-run homer: Edgar Quero on May 17 against the Chicago Cubs, Miguel Vargas on May 29 against the Detroit Tigers, and now Montgomery on June 9 against the Braves.

I'm not sure the past three years combined produced three endings like those. 

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. 

Edgar Quero walks off Cubs; Sox complete 7-2 homestand

Rate Field on May 13. (Photo by Jason Bauman)

Struggling White Sox catcher Edgar Quero picked the ideal time for his first home run of the season.

Quero, who entered Sunday's game against the crosstown Cubs batting .151 with a .163 slugging percentage, picked on the first pitch he saw from Ryan Rolison in the bottom of the 10th inning and smacked it over the wall in left-center for a two-run homer to give the Sox a 9-8 victory over the hated and despised North Siders.

The Sox took two out of three over the weekend at Rate Field, picking up their first series victory over the Cubs since 2022. 

It was hard-earned.

Sox starter Erick Fedde didn't have good stuff. He needed 84 pitches to get through the first three innings, and after allowing the first two Cubs batters to reach base in the top of the fourth, he was mercifully removed from the game.

Fedde's final line: three innings pitched, six hits, four runs (all earned), four walks, two strikeouts. Fortunately, the Sox only trailed 4-1 headed to the bottom of the fourth. With the traffic the Cubs had on the bases, it easily could have been 7-1.

Instead, the Sox remained within striking distance. They scored one in the fourth, and then tied the game at 4-4 in the fifth on a two-out, two-run double by Miguel Vargas.

Meanwhile, the Sox bullpen held the line. Sean Newcomb tossed two scoreless innings. Grant Taylor tossed two scoreless innings. Bryan Hudson pitched out of a second-and-third, one-out jam in the eighth to keep it at 4-4.

In the bottom of the eighth, Tristan Peters took his shot at being the unlikely hero. With two outs, he connected for his first MLB homer off Cubs reliever Phil Maton. It was a 3-run shot that gave the Sox a 7-4 lead going to the top of the ninth.

That should have been the decisive blow, but alas, Seranthony Dominguez has been an adventure as Sox closer. And he had another misadventure Sunday.

Alex Bregman walked to lead off the top of the ninth. After Ian Happ struck out, Seiya Suzuki reached on a two-base throwing error by Vargas that placed runners on second and third.

When a multi-run lead is blown, usually walks and errors are part of it. Dominguez fell behind in the count, 3-1, to Michael Conforto, and the Cubs outfielder blasted the next pitch out to center for a 3-run homer to tie the game at 7-7.

The Sox left two runners on base in the bottom of the inning, sending the game to extras. The Cubs got their ghost runner across against reliever Tyler Davis (2-1), with Bregman picking up the RBI on a slowly hit grounder to short.

But Davis did a good job of preventing further damage and gave the Sox a chance in the bottom of the inning.

After Andrew Benintendi's sacrifice bunt moved ghost runner Chase Meidroth over to third, the struggling Quero delivered perhaps the biggest hit of his career thus far, sending those dressed in black in the crowd into a frenzy.

The Sox are 24-22, one game back of the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central. For the homestand, the South Siders went 7-2, winning two of three from the Seattle Mariners and sweeping the Kansas City Royals prior to the Cubs series.

I made it to Rate Field for the middle game of the Kansas City series, after a co-worker who is a Royals fan invited me to the game. I took the above photo in the bottom of the eighth inning that night, with Munetaka Murakami at the plate.

As you can see, the fans haven't really come back from these past three miserable seasons. Sure, all these games against the Cubs were sellouts, but all the losing and lousy Jerry Reinsdorf ownership has hit everybody hard.

But maybe more homestands like this will slowly rejuvenate interest in this team. There's a lot of baseball left to be played, and it's a long road back to relevance. But punking the Cubs is one way for the Sox to get a little more mention on the sports talk shows and in the national press. 

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. 

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. 

Can't anybody in Atlanta pitch?

During their three-game weekend series in Kansas City, the White Sox got swept because they had trouble scoring runs. In fact, they touched home plate only five times total in the series.

Now that the scene has shifted to Atlanta, the Sox bats have suddenly come to life. They've scored 23 runs in the first two games against the Braves.

That's good; that's great.

The problem is, that offensive explosion has only resulted in a 1-1 record. After winning 13-9 on Monday night, the Sox blew a six-run lead Tuesday, losing 11-10 to the Braves.

It wasn't starter Shane Smith's fault. Sure, he was mediocre over six innings pitched, allowing four runs on seven hits. But when Smith recorded the final out of the bottom of the sixth inning, he walked off the mound with a 10-4 lead.

You would think the bullpen could cover the remaining nine outs, but you would be wrong. Sox relief pitching blew this with a remarkable quickness, giving up five runs in the seventh and two more in the eighth.

The Braves didn't even need to bat in the bottom of the ninth after trailing by six in the seventh. Pretty embarrassing for the Sox.

There were some highlights for the position players. Kyle Teel was 2 for 5 with four RBIs, a two-run double and a two-run homer included. Luis Robert Jr. had a two-out, three-run double that capped a five-run outburst in the fifth inning. Miguel Vargas was 2 for 4 with three runs scored and an RBI.

Some moral victories there, but the Sox bullpen appears to be running on fumes. There have just been too many innings to cover, with starting pitchers failing to work past five innings in too many games.

The front office realizes it, and they've been churning the bullpen to try to keep fresh arms available. One night after getting shelled for four runs in one-third of an inning, Owen White was placed on the injured list with a hip impingement, and Elvis Peguero was recalled from Triple-A Charlotte.

Alas, Peguero -- along with Tyler Gilbert -- was one of the culprits in surrendering the five-run seventh inning. Peguero issued two walks and retired only one of the four batters he faced.

Tyler Alexander (4-11) and Steven Wilson combined to surrender the lead in the eighth, with Alexander earning the loss and Wilson earning the blown save.

The Sox are 45-81. Unfortunately, there are 36 games left to play in this miserable season, which is now a near-lock to end with 100-plus losses. The pitching staff still has another 300-plus innings to cover. It's going to be ugly. 

White Sox trade Austin Slater to Yankees

The White Sox made their first deal of trade deadline season on Wednesday, sending outfielder Austin Slater to the New York Yankees in exchange for right-handed pitcher Gage Ziehl.

Ziehl, 22, was selected by the Yankees in the fourth round of the 2024 draft out of the University of Miami. He's pitched in 16 games this season, 15 of them starts. Fourteen of those appearances came for Low-A Tampa. Across 82.1 innings, he has a 4.15 ERA with 70 strikeouts and 14 walks. 

The Sox have assigned Ziehl to High-A Winston-Salem.

Slater batted .236/.299/.423 with five homers and 11 RBIs in 51 games with the Sox. As a right-handed batter, he's good at one thing: hitting left-handed pitching.

Against lefties this season, Slater posted a .261/.338/.522 slash line that included all five of his homers. For any Yankees fans who are stumbling across this blog, you are not getting a complete player or an everyday player. But you are getting an outfielder who can fill a very specific role.

Platoon Slater against lefties, and he will contribute.

Who knows about Ziehl? He's in his first year in pro ball, and I won't pretend to know what his future is. Most of these type of acquisitions don't work out, but you never know.

White Sox 9, Phillies 3

The Sox used a seven-run seventh inning to beat the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday afternoon. The South Siders took two out of three in the series, and they are now 8-4 since the All-Star break.

Four players age 25 or younger hit home runs for the Sox in this win. Kyle Teel and Colson Montgomery each hit solo homers. Miguel Vargas and Edgar Quero each hit 3-run homers in the decisive seventh inning.

If you had to draw it up, you would want the young guys to be at the forefront of whatever success this team has the rest of the way.

The Sox are 40-69. 

White Sox take 2 of 3 from Royals

Coming into this weekend's series at Rate Field, the White Sox had lost 10 in a row and 18 out of 19 against the Kansas City Royals. 

Doesn't it seem like the Sox have a lot of these terrible losing streaks left over from the Pedro Grifol era? 

The good news is the Sox put an end to that foolishness by taking two out of three from the Royals over the weekend. The South Siders completed a 4-3 homestand against the first-place Detroit Tigers and Kansas City.

Frankly, I was expecting a 2-5 record this week, so I have no complaints, despite a Sox loss on Sunday. Here's a look back at the weekend that was:

Friday, June 6

White Sox 7, Royals 2: The Sox used a five-run bottom of the eighth inning to break open a 2-2 tie. Luis Robert Jr.'s two-run bloop single with the bases loaded put the Sox ahead to stay at 4-2.

Kansas City then gifted the Sox three more runs with a wild pitch and two errors. Robert Jr. finished the game 2 for 3 with three RBIs, although both hits were soft singles. The Sox broadcast booth tried to convince fans that Robert Jr. is "back" after that performance. Alas, he was 0 for 8 with four strikeouts in the final two games of the series.

Davis Martin got a no-decision, but pitched well. He gave up two runs on five hits over six innings. He struck out seven and walked nobody. Catcher Kyle Teel went 1 for 2 with two walks and a run scored in his MLB debut.

Saturday, June 7

White Sox 4, Royals 1: A pair of home runs made the difference for the Sox. Tim Elko's fourth home run of the season, a two-run shot in the second inning, put the Sox ahead 2-1. Chase Meidroth's second home run of the year made it 3-1 in the third.

There the score stayed until the bottom of the eighth. Singles by Miguel Vargas and Teel and a sacrifice fly by Edgar Quero produced the fourth Sox run.

Adrian Houser (2-1) tossed six innings of one-run ball to get the win. He struck out six and walked one. Relievers Cam Booser, Steven Wilson and Dan Altavilla each worked a scoreless inning, with Altavilla earning his first save with the Sox. 

Sunday, June 8

Royals 7, White Sox 5: Kansas City's offense broke out with 16 hits, and the Sox were fortunate to limit the damage by turning five double plays.

Nevertheless, the Royals broke up a 2-2 tie with two runs in the seventh inning and three more in the ninth. The Sox trailed 7-2 heading into their last at-bat, but they came up with three runs and had the bases loaded with two outs. Alas, Elko struck out swinging against Kansas City closer Carlos Estevez to end the game.

Vargas totaled three RBIs for the Sox. He hit his team-leading ninth homer, a two-run shot in the first, and drew a bases-loaded walk in the ninth. The South Siders were limited to four hits and struck out 11 times.

The Sox are 22-44. 

Bad pitching will always beat bad hitting (apparently)

The Baltimore Orioles have a 5.29 team ERA, which ranks 14th in the American League and 28th overall in Major League Baseball.

Only the Athletics and the Colorado Rockies are worse. 

In other words, on average, the Orioles give up more than five earned runs every time they take the field. But that didn't stop the White Sox from posting a grand total of five runs (only four of which were earned) in a three-game series at Baltimore over the weekend.

The Orioles (22-36) swept the series, beating the Sox 2-1 on Friday, 4-2 on Saturday and 3-2 on Sunday.

It was a truly spectacular failure by the South Siders, who piled up 29 strikeouts in the three defeats. 

There are two players we will excuse from blame. Mike Tauchman went 6 for 12 with two doubles, a triple, a home run, two runs scored and two RBIs in the series. Andrew Benintendi went 4 for 11 with a double, two RBIs and a run scored.

No other Sox player had an RBI. There was one run scored Sunday on an error, hence no RBI credit was given.

Let's take a look at some of the horrible stat lines we saw from other Sox batters this weekend, in order of terribleness:

• Luis Robert Jr., 0 for 10, seven strikeouts
• Miguel Vargas, 1 for 12, two strikeouts
• Joshua Palacios, 1 for 10, three strikeouts 
• Edgar Quero, 1 for 7, four strikeouts
• Josh Rojas, 2 for 10, three strikeouts
• Chase Meidroth, 2 for 9, one strikeout
• Lenyn Sosa, 3 for 10, three strikeouts

OK, maybe we can forgive Sosa. There was no production associated with his 3 for 10, but that's a .300 batting average, and Sosa looks like Babe Ruth in comparison to Robert Jr.

Baltimore has a pitching staff that opposing teams have been padding their numbers against, but the only thing the Sox padded this weekend is their strikeout totals.

The Sox are 18-41, and it's getting a little frustrating to still hear people claim that the team is "making progress," or "turning a corner," or "showing signs of improvement."

Let's be real here: The Sox are on pace to go 49-113. Yes, that's better than the 2024 Sox, who went 41-121. Yes, they are better than the aforementioned Rockies, who are 9-50 and on pace to obliterate previous records of futility. That's nice, but so what?

The fact is the 2025 season will ultimately result in the second-worst Sox team in my lifetime, ahead of only last year. I turn 49 years old next month. I'm not new here. 

We are once again witnessing historical ineptitude, no matter what way you try to spin it. 

White Sox trade catcher Matt Thaiss to Rays

It's been years since we've said the White Sox have a surplus at any one position. However, you could make a case that the Sox have four catchers who deserve a major league roster spot.

Matt Thaiss has a .382 on-base percentage, which is second on the team. Edgar Quero is a 22-year-old rookie who has shown flashes in 31 games since being called to Chicago. 

Korey Lee, who has been on the IL with an ankle sprain, has 170 games of big league experience, and his rehab assignment in Triple-A Charlotte was set to expire this week. Meanwhile, highly regarded prospect Kyle Teel is tearing up Triple-A, having been named International Player of the Week.

Only two of these guys can play in Chicago. For now, it's going to be Quero and Lee. 

Thaiss was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday in exchange for Triple-A outfielder Dru Baker.

The move probably weakens the Sox defensively behind the plate, as Thaiss has an established reputation as a good game-caller, and he blocks pitches in the dirt quite well. But despite his .382 OBP, he's not much of an offensive player. He's batting .212 with a .294 slugging percentage. The best thing about Thiass' offense: He sees pitches and takes his walks.

In other words, Thaiss profiles as a backup catcher on a decent team. That probably works well for the Rays, who could use a better No. 2 catcher to pair with Danny Jansen. 

What are the Sox getting in Baker? He's 25 years old, and he was batting .244/.344/.302 in 17 games at Triple-A Durham before hitting the IL with an adductor strain. He's currently rehabbing the injury.

Over 311 games in the minors, Baker has posted a .291/.369/.405 slash line. He stole 49 bases in 2023 and 42 bases in 2024. So, if he can get on base at a .369 clip, his speed is a real weapon. He can play all three outfield spots, but he's only got 21 homers in 1,310 professional plate appearances.

In other words, Baker is a potential backup outfielder. I wouldn't be surprised to see him get a look in Chicago later this season after the Sox trade away veteran incumbents for futures in July.

Sox drop second straight to Mets

Pitcher Jonathan Cannon was originally scheduled to start Saturday against the Texas Rangers, but he was pushed back three days because of lower back tightness.

He took the ball Tuesday against the New York Mets, and he looked rusty, giving up four runs on six hits in the first inning. Pete Alonso and Jared Young each hit two-run homers to stake New York to an early 4-2 lead.

The Sox never fully recovered in a 6-4 loss. Give Cannon this: He got through 5.1 innings, and Jared Shuster was the only Chicago reliever used.

Miguel Vargas hit his team-leading eighth home run of the season for the Sox, a two-run shot in the top of the first inning. He added an RBI double in the seventh inning that brought the South Siders within a run at 5-4.

But the Sox could not get the tying run across, and the Mets added an insurance run in the eighth against Shuster.

The Sox have dropped three straight and are now 17-38.