Noah Schultz gave the White Sox a rough first few batters on Sunday, but once he settled in, the game tilted hard in Chicago’s favor and never really came back. The left-hander allowed a solo homer to Shea Langeliers before recording the third out, yet he never issued a walk and threw 13 of his 16 pitches for strikes in the opening frame.
That early strike-zone work ended up setting the tone for the afternoon. Sam Antonacci answered Langeliers right away with a solo homer of his own, and the White Sox kept stacking on top of that. By the time Schultz returned to the mound, Chicago had already built a five-run cushion, and the A’s were stuck chasing a game that kept slipping further away.
The Sox’ first big surge came against Ginn, and it came fast. Munetaka Murakami worked a walk after Antonacci’s homer, Miguel Vargas doubled to left, and after Colson Montgomery struck out, Andrew Benintendi was intentionally walked to load the bases for Kyle Teel.
Teel made the move pay immediately, lining a two-run single to left for a 3-1 lead. Then Braden Montgomery launched a drive to right that grazed the glove of a leaping Lawrence Butler, hit the top of the fence and bounced over for a three-run homer that pushed the margin to 6-1.
Even if Butler had come down with it, the White Sox still would have been up 4-1. As it stood, the game was already getting out of hand.
Schultz kept attacking the zone and worked through a few threats that were more about Chicago’s defense than anything the A’s were doing at the plate. His biggest jam came in the fourth after Miguel Vargas threw wildly on a Langeliers grounder to open the inning.
Jonah Heim followed with a soft single to right, and Colby Thomas floated another ball that Braden Montgomery tracked down. Joey Meneses then singled to load the bases, but Schultz got Butler on back-to-back sweepers for the second out and finished the inning with a grounder to short and a fielder’s choice.
He also escaped a Colson Montgomery error in the fifth without major damage, and that was enough to snap a four-game losing streak. Schultz’s final line looked a lot like the version the White Sox were hoping for: 5 innings, 4 hits, 1 run, 1 earned run, 0 walks, 4 strikeouts, 1 home run, 1 hit batter, and 53 of 74 pitches for strikes.
Chicago kept adding to the lead after that. Ginn lasted into the fifth, but he couldn’t get through the inning.
The Sox pushed him out with a Colson Montgomery single and an unintentional walk to Benintendi, then José Suarez entered and allowed a single to Teel that loaded the bases. Braden Montgomery then chopped a grounder through the left side for his fourth RBI of the game, Tristan Peters followed with a grounder to the right side that brought in another run on a 3-6 forceout, and Teel came home on a wild pitch for the final run.
The bullpen made the rest of it look easy. Jordan Hicks and Seranthony Domínguez covered the sixth and seventh while continuing the strike-throwing theme.
Hicks struck out the side in the sixth on 15 pitches, 13 of them strikes, and 10 of his pitches reached 100 mph or better, topping out at 101.6 mph. Domínguez followed with an even cleaner seventh.
Tyler Schweitzer took over in the eighth and worked two scoreless innings, with Chase Meidroth helping behind him. Meidroth made a diving stop on a Heim grounder that would have scored a run in the eighth, then turned a double play in the ninth to finish the shutout work the rest of the way.
The White Sox finished with a 9-1 win in front of 27,175 fans in two hours and 20 minutes, completing a sweep that wiped away the three-game stumble against Boston earlier in the week. Chicago had scored just two runs in that Red Sox series, then held the A’s to two runs while putting up 26-17 on the scoreboard across the week.
The AL Central stayed tied after Cleveland won its final four games of the first half.
The Sox’ top-end offense showed up in two of the three games in this series, and it produced 24 runs.
Meidroth was the only White Sox hitter who didn’t reach base, finishing 0-for-4 with two strikeouts from the ninth spot.
In Other News...
White Sox Just Took Another Intriguing Bat Fans Will Worry About
The White Sox added another interesting bat to the pipeline with their No. 345 pick, taking Vanderbilt junior Braden Holcomb as part of a draft class that continues to lean into upside. Holcomb brings speed and the kind of versatility teams like to dream on, with experience at multiple positions and enough athleticism to keep evaluators engaged even if the profile is still very much in progress.
What makes him a tougher read is the hit tool, which has been the main reason he slid to this point. Chicago will have to sort through the swing and decide where he fits defensively, and the early plan could include a stop in Kannapolis as the organization works through both sides of his development. For a White Sox system that can afford to bet on tools, Holcomb is exactly the sort of player who can look intriguing now and still leave fans wondering how the whole package comes together. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Draft Pick Carries A Franchise Connection Fans Will Feel
The White Sox added another notable name to their draft class when they took shortstop Landon Thome with the No. 33 overall pick in Competitive Balance Round A. He joined a group that also included UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky at No. 1 overall and second baseman Cole Prosek in the second round, giving Chicago a mix of high-end talent and infield depth as it worked through the early part of the draft.
Thomes selection carried an extra layer of familiarity for White Sox fans, even before the front office got to the rest of its board. Chicago had just picked up that selection in a Friday trade, and the club moved on Thome before its next slot came around, a sign it did not want to leave the board to chance with a player it clearly valued. [Read more 🡒]
First-Place White Sox Just Changed The Conversation Around This Season
The conversation around the White Sox looks a lot different now than it did when they reached the All-Star break at 32-65. A 9-1 win over the Athletics pushed Chicago to 50-45 and into first place in the American League Central, a stunning turnaround for a club that spent the first half buried in the standings and now has 67 games left to prove this surge is real.
There is still plenty to sort out, but the mood around the team and manager has clearly shifted from survival mode to something more ambitious. Noah Schultz also gave the White Sox a lift by earning his first win since May 1, ending a six-start winless streak, and Chicago will keep trying to turn a hot stretch into a position it has not had in a while: a lead worth protecting. [Read more 🡒]