The White Sox kept finding little cracks in the game, but the Mets kept slamming the door shut.
Chicago’s offense had enough traffic to make things interesting and even gave itself a couple of real chances to flip the script. The problem was the same one that has haunted this series: the pitching never held up long enough. Luis Castillo and Huascar Brazoban, both brought in before the deadline, again came up short, and New York answered every White Sox push on the way to a 10-5 Mets win in the second game of the set.
It started with New York striking first. A.J.
Ewing opened the night with a single to left, then swiped second base. With two outs, Carson Benge got enough of Castillo’s sinking changeup to dump a single into left, bringing Ewing home for a 1-0 Mets lead.
Chicago answered right away. Braden Montgomery jumped on Christian Scott’s inside cutter and crushed it to right field for a solo shot, his fifth home run of the rookie season. The ball traveled 419 feet.
Castillo, though, never found the pitch that would let him settle in. In the third, he gave up a solo homer to Bo Bichette, then watched the inning unravel.
Luis Robert Jr. was initially called out on strikes, but he challenged the call and ABS showed the pitch was barely off the corner, less than 0.1 inch. Two pitches later, Robert launched a two-run homer to right-center.
The inning kept going. Brett Baty walked, Marcus Semien singled, and after 42 pitches in the third alone, Will Venable went to the bullpen.
Castillo’s night was done after 2.2 innings, with eight hits, four earned runs, one walk and three strikeouts. The plan was for him to cover innings and help a taxed bullpen.
Instead, he was a drain on it.
Tyler Schweitzer at least stopped the bleeding enough to get through the third, striking out Francisco Alvarez with two runners aboard. But he wasn’t much sharper than Castillo, allowing three runs across 3 ⅓ innings.
By then, the White Sox were already in chase mode, and Robert wasn’t finished. He added his second home run in the seventh, this one coming off Brazoban. Since arriving in Chicago, Brazoban has allowed 11 hits and six earned runs over nine innings.
Still, the White Sox had chances to make the Mets sweat. They loaded the bases multiple times, and for a moment it looked like Colson Montgomery might deliver the biggest swing of the night in the fifth. Instead, his drive down the right field line drifted foul, and he ended up striking out looking.
Chicago also caught a break when Tristan Peters sent a deep fly to right that Benge appeared to haul in at the wall. But as Benge slammed into the fence, the ball popped out of his glove and over the wall for a home run.
That brief opening didn’t last long. Benge later got even by homering himself, and the Mets kept answering every White Sox rally with one of their own. By the end, Chicago would have needed to double its output just to force extras.
In Other News...
White Sox Fans Finally Have A New Way To Judge Vaughn
Andrew Vaughn has spent enough time around the White Sox to know that first base defense is often judged by feel as much as by hard evidence, but Statcast has finally given fans a fresher way to look at it. The new receiving leaderboard breaks down the job into specific skills like scoops and handling different kinds of throws, adding some needed clarity to a position where the little plays can blend together from one game to the next.
For Vaughn, the early read is encouraging. Statcast had him as a net positive defender, with particular strength on bounced throws and balls arriving high, even if his catch radius still leaves room for improvement. It is a more nuanced picture than a simple good-or-bad label, and one White Sox followers can use as the season develops. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Put Two Key Infield Prospects On Hold At Once
The White Sox have put the brakes on two of their most closely watched infield prospects at the same time, with Roch Cholowsky and Billy Carlson both shut down for the rest of the 2026 season. Cholowsky is dealing with a right wrist issue, while Carlson is working back from a skin infection and the treatment that came with it, leaving Chicago to take the cautious route with two players it views as important pieces for the future.
For a farm system trying to build real depth up the middle, the timing is a frustrating one, even if the long view matters more than any one summer. Both prospects are now focused on recovery and on getting ready for the 2027 season, which means the organization will spend the coming months waiting to see how each one responds before the next step in their development comes into focus. [Read more 🡒]
Kyle Teels Return Gives White Sox One More Catcher Question Down The Stretch
Kyle Teel is finally on the move again, and the White Sox are hoping the latest step gets him back on the field for good. After a season interrupted by a right hamstring strain, a sprained lateral collateral ligament in his right knee and a left ankle sprain, Teel has been cleared for game action and is set to begin a rehab assignment with Charlotte, giving the organization a chance to see how his body holds up in real action.
For a White Sox club trying to sort out the catcher spot over the final stretch, Teels return to the lineup picture carries obvious significance. Getting him back to full health would give the team a steadier option behind the plate, but the rehab assignment is the first checkpoint, and the bigger question is whether he can stay healthy long enough to matter in the seasons last weeks. [Read more 🡒]