White Sox Weekly: July 20-26, 2026
· Yahoo Sports
There is distance growing between the first-place White Sox and those pesky Cleveland Guardians. A series victory in Arlington mixed with a singule win against the Astros created a 2 1/2-game division lead for the Good Guys. This, helped by the fact that Cleveland has now lost five in a row, created some much-needed breathing room as the club stares down the Yankees and the Rays this upcoming week.
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After taking two of three in Arlington against the Rangers, I can confidently say the White Sox have figured out how to win on the road. They have not dropped an away series since they were swept in Detroit in June. The club landed in Texas and immediately made a statement.
For the majority of the series opener, it was tight. The White Sox came up to bat in the top of the ninth inning and flipped the script, scoring five runs and doubling the night’s total. There was not a single home run hit to get to the double-digit scoring output. Instead, it was a night full of four doubles. Miguel Vargas led the way with two RBI doubles, the first getting the White Sox on the scoreboard and the second starting the ninth-inning rally.
View LinkView LinkThe game was made even sweeter because Jacob deGrom was on the mound, and even though he may be ancient for a MLB pitcher, he still is throwing 97 mph. The Texas starter kept Chicago in check for four innings but did not make it out of the fifth, pulled with two outs after giving up a bases-clearing double to Andrew Benintendi. It was a bullpen day of sorts for the White Sox: Erick Fedde made it through four innings, giving up two runs, walking none and striking out six. The only blemish for the bullpen was a solo home run given up by Seranthony Domínguez to old friend Jake Burger.
Wins are sweet, but there was a bitter side to this one: Kyle Teel sprained his ankle and is going to be out for 6-12 weeks. It appears the front office might now need to be on the lookout for a veteran catcher on the trade market. It was being talked about this week that the solution for many catcher-needy teams could be Shea Langeliers, but he is now out for what looks like the remainder of the season with a torn meniscus. It is time for Chris Getz to get creative.
Tuesday was a completely different story for the pitching staff. It was like the clubs switched roles for the evening. Noah Schultz’s ERA continues to balloon, making its way past six after giving up five runs on 11 hits. The lefty was pulled after only 3 2/3 innings, and the bullpen could not keep the game within reach. Trevor Richards gave up two runs in his two-thirds of an inning and Tyler Schweitzer couldn’t keep his hot streak going, giving up three earned runs over 2 2/3 innings. The only pitcher in the entire game not to give up a run? Luisangel Acuña.
All was forgiven on Wednesday, when the team bounced back and took the series with a 4-2 win. The Rangers had a planned bullpen day, starting with former friend Tyler Alexander and ending with Jacob Latz. The left-handed opener gave up an RBI single to Chase Meidroth for the first run of the game and his only run given up in two innings of work.
View LinkCal Quantrill, who you might remember from his few seasons with Cleveland, took the bulk innings and the loss, giving up two runs on a pair of RBI singles to Meidroth and Benintendi. The fourth and final run for Chicago was surrendered by Jakob Junis. There was a theme for this game, and that was singles. Benintendi picked up his second RBI of the day to give the pitching more room to work with. It was room they needed after Anthony Kay gave up two runs over five innings. The elite portion of the bullpen (Jordan Hicks!) was deployed to keep the game where it was. Hicks, along with Grant Taylor and Bryan Hudson, kept the Rangers quiet and secured the victory.
Everything is bigger in Texas, but they do say if you go big you have to go home. That is exactly where the White Sox headed to take on the weaker of the two teams from the Lone Star State. I say weaker, but as you will quickly discover, looks can be deceiving. In what should have been at least two victories, the team dropped both Friday and Saturday’s matchups to the Astros.
Friday’s game was very much in reach. The squad scored three runs in the first inning to take an early lead and give Davis Martin some run support. They scored their runs the old fashioned way: a sacrifice fly, RBI single, and hit-by-pitch. In the fifth inning, Chicago tacked on two more thanks to a wild pitch and a Meidroth double. Then the wheels fell off.
Martin entered the fifth inning with the best intentions, but rather than be well on his way to his 10th win of the season, he loaded the bases and allowed a run on a LaMonte Wade Jr. single to right field. Will Venable saw enough after 88 pitches, and brought in Hudson to get a handle on things. He did not. The lefty let things get out of control in his two-thirds of an inning pitched, giving up a bases-clearing double to score the runners Martin was responsible for. Before he turned over the bases loaded with two outs to Domínguez, Hudson gave up a two-run shot to Cam Smith. This homer officially blew the lead for the White Sox and earned Hudson the loss. Dominguez Domínguez gave up no runs in his outing, but he allowed the hits that scored the last two runs of the inning. This was a game best forgotten.
Sean Burke had an incredible outing on Saturday, the type of outing that warrants a win. The righthander threw a quality start, going six innings, giving up three runs, and striking out 10. It was an unfortunate error in right field that put the Astros well on the scoreboard: Issac Paredes singled to Braden Montgomery but instead of fielding it cleanly and only allowing one run, Braden didn’t have his body in front of the ball and it took a hop over his glove. This allowed Houston to clear the bases and take a 3-0 lead.
View LinkParedes singled again in the eighth inning, Braden fielding it cleanly this time, to pick up his third RBI of the game and Houston’s fourth run. The lone run for Chicago was scored in the bottom of the ninth, when Colson Montgomery helped his team avoid being shut out for the second time in the week by driving in Vargas on a single to right.
The good news is, the Guardians lost every night as well, so no lead was lost in the division race. And Sunday was yet another opportunity to take advantage of the Cleveland skid. It was Munetaka Murakami bobblehead day at the ballpark, and Mune’s parents were in town (they even threw out the first pitch). Thankfully, the first baseman put on a show for his parents.
The Pale Hose scored a massive 12 runs in the series finale, and Murakami was responsible for driving in half of them. There were five home runs hit by the ballclub this week — all hit on Sunday. Meidroth, Vargas, and Junior Perez each homered in the game, but Mune had to be special and hit two dingers. His shot in the bottom of the first inning was his first home run since returning from the IL:
View LinkIt also gave the team its first lead of the day. The second traveled nearly 400 feet and made it a dozen in the scorecard. As if two home runs weren’t enough, he also knocked in a run on a ground out in the third and a pair of runs on a single in the bottom of the seventh. His total of six RBIs were the most he’s had in his young major league career. Fingers crossed that this got the rust off the home run machine:
View LinkWhen all is said and done, the White Sox had a .500 week and grew their lead in the AL Central. When you put it like that, it doesn’t seem terrible, but when you dig a little deeper the club has some clear weaknesses. Chicago has a need for pitching, starters and relief alike. The pitching staff ranks 11th in the league in team ERA so far this season. Three of those teams are still worse than .500. The bullpen has also been presented with 48 save opportunities and only converted 28 of those. There is a lack of consistency, and an arm or two might help to mend the cracks that have shown.
The trade deadline is coming up, and how teams perform in the next week is going to say a lot about who is buying and who is selling. It is also going to say a lot about what kind of talent Chicago is going to go after. And the games heading into the deadline will be a challenge, as the Yankees are in town for a four-game set followed by a trip to Florida to play the AL-leading Rays.