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.

American League Central race reset

There are less than three weeks remaining in the regular season, so let's reset where the American League Central Division race stands.

The White Sox took two out of three from the Minnesota Twins over the weekend at Rate Field, ending any realistic chance of the Twins winning the division.

It's a near certainty the division champion will be either the Sox or the Cleveland Guardians.

The Sox stand at 75-68, three games ahead of the Guardians, who lost 6-4 to the Baltimore Orioles on Monday afternoon. Cleveland's record is 73-72. The Sox have 19 games to play; the Guardians have 17.

Here are the remaining schedules for both teams:

Sox: 3 vs. Pittsburgh, 3 at St. Louis, 3 at Cleveland, 4 vs. Detroit, 3 at Kansas City, 3 vs. Colorado

Cleveland: 2 at Baltimore, 3 at Minnesota, 3 vs. White Sox, 3 vs. Athletics, 3 at Boston, 3 at Kansas City

The series at Cleveland from Sept. 14-16 is obviously an important one, as it will decide the tiebreaker. The Sox currently lead the season series, 6-4, and they will need to win one game in that series to secure the tiebreaker. The Guardians would need a series sweep.

But taking a tie out of the equation, here are some various scenarios for each team to win the division outright:

• If the Sox go 7-12, the Guardians would need to go 10-7.
• If the Sox go 8-11, the Guardians would need to go 11-6.
• If the Sox go 9-10, the Guardians would need to go 12-5.
• If the Sox go 10-9, the Guardians would need to go 13-4
• If the Sox go 11-8, the Guardians would need to go 14-3.
• If the Sox go 12-7, the Guardians would need to go 15-2.

I could be wrong, but I think it's reasonable to believe the Sox will win somewhere between seven and 12 of their remaining 19 games. 

The math favors the Sox at this stage, but we know Cleveland is capable of getting crazy-hot in September. Just last year, the Guardians closed by winning 20 of their final 27 games. They erased an 11-game lead the Detroit Tigers held on Sept. 4 to claim the division title.

Bottom line: The Sox can't expect to back into this. Cleveland will not go quietly. That said, the Sox should be OK if they continue to play at their current pace and, most importantly, win at least one of three in that series vs. the Guardians.

Happy Labor Day from The Baseball KId

 

Tommy Pham is back on the White Sox

Here's my hot take of the day that will make me persona non grata among White Sox fans: Tommy Pham is not a "clubhouse cancer." 

The Sox on Monday acquired Pham from the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for cash considerations. I know what you're saying: Wasn't the trade deadline Aug. 3?

Yes, yes it was. But Pham was not on Philadelphia's 40-man roster, which means he was eligible to be dealt, and he can still be eligible for postseason play if he's added to a roster by Sept. 1, which is ... checks notes ... today. How about that? 

This move sent fans into a tizzy because they are worried the 38-year-old Pham, known around the league as an intense competitor, will upset the apparently delicate chemistry in the Sox clubhouse.

And, you know, Pham slapped poor Joc Pederson (who wasn't even his teammate) in the face in an alleged dispute over fantasy football in 2022. That must mean he's a bad guy, right? What is this? A soap opera? 

A few things: First, the Sox have spent six months building a strong clubhouse, and if it's truly as strong as we all think it is, certainly it can handle the addition of a personality like Pham's.

Secondly, these are grown men playing for money. They are professionals, and they are expected to do their jobs regardless of what they think about their teammates.

Third, Pham was a member of the White Sox just two seasons ago. General manager Chris Getz and other front office members certainly know him, and if they thought he was a bad person, do you really think they would bring him back to the team now? 

Lastly, as fans, we aren't in the clubhouse. But players are, and veteran Andrew Benintendi, who was remembers playing with Pham two years ago, seems happy about the move.

"I enjoyed playing with him. I'm looking forward to seeing him," Benintendi told MLB.com. "Brings it every single day, is passionate about winning. Yeah, I think he'll be a good addition."

Said Sox manager Will Venable, "It means a lot. I'm really excited about Tommy Pham coming. As you look at it broadly, our need for a right-handed bat against left-handed pitching is something that we're really excited about. And then the human being, the teammate, the edge that he brings, kind of who he is as a total player. I think he's going to make a real big impact here."

For me, the problem isn't Pham's attitude. I welcome this kind of player. I just question whether he can still play effectively in MLB at age 38.

Pham played for three organizations this season: the New York Mets, the Baltimore Orioles and the aforementioned Phillies. His only big-league time this year was in April with the Mets. He appeared in nine games and went 0 for 13 with seven strikeouts.

Most recently, with Triple-A Lehigh Valley, he batted .250/.381/.391 with three homers and 25 RBIs in 44 games. 

I'm guessing we will see Pham play corner outfield when the opposition is throwing a left-handed starter. Left fielder Sam Antonacci, as a left-handed batter, has struggled at times against lefties this year. Right fielder Braden Montgomery, a switch hitter, has been stronger from the left side than the right in his career. 

Those two factoids apparently opened this door for Pham. We'll see if he has enough baseball left in him to make a meaningful contribution over the 25 games on the September schedule.

Anyway, let's welcome Pham back with our traditional video for players whom the Sox reacquire:

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.

Happy Fourth of July from The Baseball Kid

 

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.