The White Sox get a timely boost as they finish the first half with a three-game series against the Athletics, and the lineup has a new look right away. Munetaka Murakami is back after missing time with a hamstring strain, and he’s jumping straight back into the heart of the order at first base.
Chicago is coming off a rough week against Boston, so this series suddenly carries more weight than it looked like it would a few days ago. The Sox still have a chance to steady things before the break, and Murakami’s return gives them exactly the kind of thump they’ve been missing.
The White Sox lineup for this one runs: Sam Antonacci in left, Murakami at first, Miguel Vargas at third, Colson Montgomery at short, Braden Montgomery in right, Chase Meidroth at second, Andrew Benintendi as the DH, Kyle Teel catching, and Tristan Peters in center.
Murakami’s comeback is the headline. He opened the season on a historic tear, piling up 20 home runs in his first 57 games and looking like a real All-Star and Rookie of the Year candidate before the hamstring strain shut him down in late May. Now he’s back in the middle of a group that already includes Vargas and Montgomery, which makes the top half of this lineup look a lot more dangerous.
There was some question about whether the Sox would ease him back in as the DH, but they’re not going that route. He’s starting at first base, which is a good sign for how ready they believe he is.
Benintendi is also back in the lineup against a left-hander, making his first start in five days, though he stays lower in the order. Will Venable is keeping Colson Montgomery and Braden Montgomery together in the four and five spots.
Peters returns to center field and hits ninth after a strong stretch against Cleveland, where he finished the series with six hits.
The Athletics counter with Lawrence Butler, Shea Langeliers, Tyler Soderstrom, Jonah Heim, Jacob Wilson, Joey Meneses, Joshua Kuroda-Grauer, Henry Bolte, and Jeff McNeil.
On the mound, Sean Burke has quietly become one of the better stories in the White Sox rotation. Over his last four starts, he’s held opponents to fewer than two runs each time, and he just struck out 11 against Cleveland. He still has some walk issues and can be vulnerable to the long ball early, but Chicago has been able to let him work deeper into games lately.
Jacob Lopez starts for Oakland, and the numbers have been ugly. He carries a 7.04 ERA over 53.2 innings, was tagged for four earned runs against Detroit in his last outing, and before that gave up seven runs to the Yankees in late May. The A’s even sent him down to Triple-A for a stretch.
With Murakami back in the lineup and Burke on the mound, this is the kind of game the White Sox should expect to take care of.
In Other News...
Billy Carlson Just Gave White Sox Fans A Reason To Exhale
Billy Carlson is back on the field, and for White Sox fans that alone is a welcome sight after a thumb injury briefly threatened to slow one of the organizations more closely watched young infielders. Carlson returned to action with the ACL White Sox, handled shortstop and finished 0-for-3, a modest box score that matters less than the simple fact that he was playing again after recovering from a non-displaced fracture in his left thumb.
The timing should offer some relief around the organization, too, because the initial recovery window had suggested a shorter absence before the setback lingered longer than expected. Carlsons first game back does not answer every question about how quickly hell recapture his rhythm, but it does get him moving in the right direction again, which is exactly what the White Sox needed to see after a frustrating stretch on the injury front. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Finally Took The Kind Of Draft Swing Fans Wanted
The White Sox went after upside in the 2026 draft class, and Joey Volchko is the kind of arm that fits the bill. The right-hander transferred from Stanford to Georgia and became a key part of the Bulldogs run to a College World Series championship, flashing the power stuff that can make scouts take notice. MLB has him ranked as the 68th-best prospect, which gives Chicago a little more to dream on than a typical middle-round arm.
Volchkos appeal starts with the pitch mix, especially a slider that stands out and a fastball that can miss bats. The stuff is there to imagine a real impact arm down the line, but the White Sox are also buying into a pitcher who still has to prove he can consistently throw strikes. For a club looking for more than safe, low-ceiling picks, this was the kind of swing fans had been waiting to see. [Read more 🡒]
Why White Sox Fans Will Judge This No. 1 Pick Hard
The White Sox spent the top pick on a player who fits their preferred mold almost perfectly, taking UCLA shortstop Daniel Roch Cholowsky first overall in the 2026 MLB draft. He brings the kind of all-around profile that teams dream about at the top of the board, with a reputation for impact at the plate and reliability in the field, and he also carries a bit of draft history with him as just the third college shortstop ever chosen No. 1 overall.
For Chicago, though, the fit is only part of why this selection will be watched so closely. The organization has made clear what kind of player it values, and Cholowsky checks those boxes, but No. 1 picks are judged on more than philosophy. White Sox fans will want to know not just whether he looks like the right choice on paper, but whether he can quickly turn that promise into the kind of cornerstone production that makes a franchise-altering pick feel obvious in hindsight. [Read more 🡒]