The White Sox are moving into the final series of the regular season with their playoff spot already secured, but they’re not easing up - and Friday’s lineup makes that clear. Chicago opens against the Rockies at Rate Field with Chase Meidroth out, forcing a shuffle that puts Sam Antonacci at second base and keeps the rest of the order in motion.
Antonacci leads off as usual against a right-hander, and he’ll be followed by Kyle Teel, who slots in at No. 2 after going deep in Thursday’s playoff-clinching win. Miguel Vargas hits third, with Munetaka Murakami behind him. Vargas has shaken off a brief skid, posting a .320/.485/.600 line over his last seven games, while Murakami appears to have put a brutal slump behind him with a .240/.406/.600 line in that same stretch.
Andrew Benintendi is at designated hitter despite a rough last 15 outings, and Tristan Peters follows him in the six spot. Because Antonacci is covering second, Randal Grichuk gets the start in left field against a righty.
That’s not a bad place for Chicago to be, considering Grichuk has been hot lately with a .400/.408/.733 slash line over his last 15 games. Colson Montgomery bats eighth and will try to avoid unwanted history as he sits on the edge of the single-season MLB strikeout record.
Braden Montgomery closes the lineup after breaking out of a slump with a .360/.360/.480 line in his last seven games.
Chicago’s order against Tomoyuki Sugano lines up with a chance to strike early. Sugano has had a rough season, carrying a 5.36 ERA across 28 starts and 147.2 innings, with 91 strikeouts and 31 home runs allowed. His last seven starts have been even rougher, with an 8.47 ERA.
On the mound for the White Sox is Sean Burke, who had been rolling before settling back a bit. He owns a 5.17 ERA over his last seven games, but he’s also allowed just one run in his last 11 innings while striking out nine. Chicago will lean on that version of Burke as it faces a Rockies lineup that has been described as weak away from Coors Field.
Colorado’s starting nine brings Jake McCarthy, Adael Amador, Hunter Goodman, TJ Rumfield, Kyle Karros, Mickey Moniak, Troy Johnston, Zac Veen, and Ezequiel Tovar. The White Sox will try to take advantage early and keep the pressure on as the regular season winds down.
In Other News...
White Sox Prospects Suddenly Face Bigger Questions After A Brutal 2026
The White Soxs prospect watch has taken a rough turn now that the 2026 minor league season is over, and a few of the organizations more notable names left the year with more questions than answers. Right-hander Tanner McDougal spent the season dealing with an injury and a role change, while infielder Jeral Perez had a harder time than expected adjusting to Double-A pitching, two developments that complicate the path the club had hoped to see from both players.
Christian Oppors season added another layer to the concern. The left-hander battled control problems and was eventually demoted, a setback that only deepens the uncertainty around his future role. For a farm system that needs progress, the issue now is not just who struggled in 2026, but which of these prospects can still put themselves back on track inside the White Sox organization. [Read more 🡒]
Colson Montgomery Just Reached A White Sox Milestone Nobody Wanted
Colson Montgomerys rookie season has delivered plenty of loud contact and enough production to keep the White Sox intrigued, even as one particularly unforgiving number now sits at the center of his year. The shortstop set a new club mark for strikeouts in a season, edging past a record long associated with Adam Dunn, while still giving Chicago real value with his power at the plate and steady work in the field.
Montgomery has hit 31 home runs and driven in 87 runs, good enough to rank among the American Leagues better power bats, and his defense has been a plus as well. His plus-10 fielding run value and top-tier outs above average show why the strikeout total does not tell the whole story, even if the milestone itself is the kind nobody in a rebuild wants to celebrate for long. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Mourn A Pitching Voice Fans Will Never Forget
The White Sox lost one of the most recognizable voices in their modern baseball history with the death of Don Cooper at 70. A fixture in the organization for 33 seasons, Cooper spent 18 years as the clubs major league pitching coach and became one of the defining figures behind a generation of White Sox arms, building his reputation through relentless teaching and a presence that players and fans alike came to know well.
Coopers path to that role started with a brief big league playing career before he moved into coaching, where his influence only grew. For White Sox fans, he was more than a coach on the bench or in the dugout; he was part of the teams identity for years, and his long run in Chicago left a lasting imprint on the pitchers he helped shape and the organization he served. [Read more 🡒]