There’s a little bit of everything in the White Sox picture right now: a division that keeps bending in weird directions, a home team that just took care of Cleveland, and a standings race that suddenly looks more winnable than it did a week ago.
The White Sox left the weekend with two wins in three games over the Guardians and a broken four-game skid. That mattered, especially with Boston still rolling along and having already swept Chicago in the season series for the first time ever. But Cleveland’s stumble also pushed it down to fourth in the division, and the door has cracked open for a different set of names near the top.
Second place, bizarrely enough, belongs to the Tigers and Twins. Detroit’s front office decided a 3 1/2-game Wild Card gap was enough to sell, shipping out both Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize, and yet the Tigers have kept taking advantage of mediocre stretches from Chicago, Cleveland, and Minnesota.
Over the last 10 games, the White Sox are 5-5, Cleveland is 3-7, and Minnesota is 4-6. That means the preseason favorite in the AL Central could be sitting on a playoff spot by next week, heading into the second half of August.
Still, the belief here is that Detroit will eventually run out of steam.
For Chicago, the bigger immediate question is simple: who ends up on top in baseball’s worst division? Right now, the White Sox have a real shot.
That didn’t feel very likely after Fenway. The series opener in Boston turned into a 14-2 loss, and it came right after a series win over Tampa. There was chatter about Davis Martin tipping pitches, something that seemed to be backed up by Martin himself and Kyle Teel, but the numbers also tell a blunt story: Martin has been much better at home than on the road.
In 12 road starts, he has a 5.32 ERA, a 3.41 BB/9, a 1.52 WHIP, and opponents are hitting .295 against him. At home, the difference is dramatic.
Over 11 starts, he owns a 2.84 ERA, a 2.05 BB/9, a 1.11 WHIP, and opposing hitters are batting .231. Home field has clearly mattered for him this season, and it may matter again if the standings hold and he gets a chance to start a playoff game on his own mound.
Thursday brought the most nerve-racking game of the season so far. After losing the middle game of the set 4-0, the White Sox faced a 13-inning battle that felt like a must-have.
Instead, they came up short. Chicago could score in extras, but the pitching couldn’t keep Boston from answering, and Caleb Durbin ended it with a single to center field.
Erick Fedde took the loss after moving to the bullpen following the Luis Castillo trade.
Then came the next gut punch: after getting blasted by a team that nobody except its fans likes, the White Sox came home and lost the series opener to their closest division rival, 8-2. At that point, it felt like the season had hit midnight.
That game started as a Noah Schultz outing, but it didn’t stay that way for long. Zach Bove visited the mound, then Will Venable came out for a second visit in the same inning with the same pitcher, which forced Schultz out after one-third of an inning.
He allowed two earned runs in that brief stint. David Sandlin then took over and turned the night into a bigger mess, giving up six earned runs over 5 1/3 innings.
At least Colson Montgomery and Munetaka Murakami both homered.
Saturday belonged to Ozzie Guillén. The jersey retirement celebration was a big one, and it was clear how much he meant to Chicago.
The day had plenty of ceremony attached to it, and the White Sox made sure not to spoil it. They fell behind 2-0 in the top of the sixth, then answered with a five-run rally in the bottom half to win the game.
The club also gave the Guilléns a trip to Japan as part of the number retirement festivities, which made Munetaka Murakami’s 26th homer of the season feel even more fitting as the start of the comeback. Braden Montgomery, Chase Meidroth, and Tristan Peters all added key RBIs in the victory.
Sunday’s finale was interrupted almost immediately. Only one inning was played before the tarp came out, and the game entered a 2:23 rain delay with Cleveland leading 2-1. What had started as a normal Davis Martin outing turned into the MLB debut of Hagen Smith once play resumed.
The No. 2 prospect went two innings, allowed no runs, struck out three, and walked four. The stuff was nasty, but the pitch count climbed after he loaded the bases in the third, and his day ended at 48 pitches. He also went home with a few authenticated balls, including the one marking his first MLB win.
Colson Montgomery then delivered the decisive swing, blasting his 26th home run of the season to pull even with Mune for the team lead and give the White Sox the edge they needed in a 5-3 win.
Now the Reds come to town. Cincinnati looks less threatening than the Guardians, but the White Sox can’t afford to assume anything. Chicago needs a strong series before heading back to Detroit, because the Tigers may have sold at the deadline, but they still haven’t gone away in this division.
In Other News...
White Sox Risk Stunting Sam Antonacci With One Frustrating Decision
Sam Antonacci has become one of the more interesting young pieces in the White Sox lineup, which is why the way Chicago has handled him against left-handed pitching stands out. The rookie has been used far less in those matchups because his production has lagged there compared with right-handers, but his overall offensive impact has still made him look like a player the organization should be building around rather than picking apart by platoon.
Antonacci is still early enough in his career that every decision about playing time carries extra weight, and the White Sox have to balance short-term lineup convenience with long-term development. Keeping him mostly out of those left-on-left spots may protect the box score in the moment, but it also raises the question of whether the team is limiting a core players growth by narrowing the very experience he needs to round out his game. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Trade For Luis Castillo Is Already Raising Doubts
The White Sox went into the deadline looking to patch a need in the rotation, and the deal for Luis Castillo from Seattle was supposed to give them a veteran arm with a track record they could trust. Instead, the early returns have only added to the noise around a transaction that sent Nolan Jones, reliever Seranthony Dominguez and prospect Boston Smith the other way, with Chicago hoping the balance of established help and future cost would make the swap worthwhile.
Castillo has not settled in during his first starts with the White Sox, which is exactly the kind of start that can make a deadline move look shaky in a hurry. Meanwhile, Smith is already drawing attention in the Mariners system as a rising prospect with strong offensive production, a reminder that deals like this are often judged less by the day they are made than by how the players involved look a few weeks later. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Suddenly Have A Chance At Much-Needed Infield Speed
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Chicago is among the clubs reportedly interested, along with Tampa Bay, and the fit is easy to see from the White Sox side. Mateo could come in as a big league backup or on a minor league deal aimed at providing depth, which is the sort of flexible move teams often make when they need a little more range and quickness around the diamond without committing too heavily. [Read more 🡒]