Kyle Teel went 3-for-4 with two clutch RBIs and the offense combined for 11 hits behind a bullpen game staff
The White Sox (28-56) pulled off the series win at home as they overcame their offensive woes to defeat the Giants (45-39), 5-2. The offense was able to finally put up more than one run, though they still struggled in clutch situations (2-for-12 with runners in scoring position, 10 left on base). The good news is the bullpen was mostly on point and gave up just three hits and one run, and Jonathan Cannon was able to do the same in his opening three innings of work.
Naturally, the rain started to fall seemingly out of nowhere just before game time, but Cannon worked through it well. He gave up a base hit to Heliot Ramos as the first batter of the game, but recovered with ease and served Rafael Devers his sixth strikeout of the series before retiring Wilmer Flores and Mike Yastrzemski to get out of the inning.
The top of the White Sox lineup continues to be the heart and soul of the offense, and they jumped on the Giants early in the bottom of the first to give Cannon a tad of run support. Mike Tauchman remains an on-base merchant, ripping a double to the right field corner on the first pitch he saw. Chase Meidroth didn’t make the best contact, but a slow roller to Giants shortstop Willy Adames worked well enough to move Tauchman to third, allowing him to score on the next at-bat, an Andrew Benintendi sacrifice fly:
Tauchman and Meidroth alone accounted for five of Chicago’s 11 hits, but the bottom half of the order started to finally wake up as the game wore on.
Cannon walked Willy Adames to lead off the second inning, but he forced Jung Hoo Lee to ground into a double play for the first two outs. He walked his second batter of the inning, who then stole second to get the Giants right back into scoring position. It worked, too, as Patrick Bailey doubled on the next at-bat to tie the game at one. Cannon struck out Brett Wisely to end the inning, but the Sox had a new ball game on their hands.
The Sox bats seemed to carry their momentum into the second inning as Kyle Teel drove a base hit to start things off. It has to be kind of surreal as a young player to grow up watching players like Justin Verlander, and then get the opportunity to bat against him … and even get a hit (or two!). You love to see it.
Ryan Noda walked to put two on base, but the South Siders were robbed by the wind as all three fly outs in the inning died before leaving the park. One of these was by Jung Hoo Lee, who was able to make a great catch in center to cut off a potential RBI double off the wall:
For the first time in his outing, Cannon did not start the third inning with a base runner, but he walked Devers on the next at-bat and promptly gave up a base hit to Wilmer Flores to give the Giants two runners with just one out. The White Sox bullpen started to get moving, as Cannon was making his first start since coming off of the IL, but he didn’t need the help and got out of it with back-to-back strikeouts, making four on the day. For his first time starting in a month, I’d say Cannon did a fine job, but he needs to cut down walks a bit next time around.
Brandon Eisert did end up replacing Cannon in the fourth, and he struck out the first batter he faced before giving up a double to Christian Koss. Eisert worked around it and got out of the inning unscathed, still tied at one.
Perhaps we should have left Eisert in the game, but Will Venable went to the bullpen again for the fifth, and Jordan Leasure entered — and handed the lead over to the Giants. Leasure started with a strikeout, but things snowballed downhill as he loaded the bases on a pair of walks and a base hit. San Francisco ended up taking a one-run lead after Leasure walked his third batter of the inning to force a run home:
Leasure was able to rebound and get the final two outs of the inning, but it’s yet another time that the bullpen creates problems for themselves. At least the rest of the pitching was more or less efficient.
The Sox had more scoring opportunities in the bottom of the third, after Tauchman and Meidroth both singled to start the inning. The opportunity ended as quick as it started, and the South Siders failed to get another hit and went down in order to end the threat. Through just three innings, the Good Guys were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
The offense was flat for the fourth outside of a walk, but (sort of) got something cooking again in the bottom of the fifth. Meidroth got hit by a pitch and was caught stealing second — a call that was reversed on review after slow-motion caught Meidroth stopping his slide short to avoid the tag. Veteran move, Chase!
Either way it didn’t matter, as Vargas struck out looking on the next at-bat.
The same story continued into the bottom of the sixth, as Kyle Teel led off the inning by poking a little flare to right for his second hit of the game, but three weak attempts at the plate followed and the White Sox maintained a one-run deficit.
Dan Altavilla took over for Leasure in the sixth, and he has been pretty reliable since joining the team (1.84 ERA). He was just as great Sunday, and threw for 1 1⁄3 scoreless innings with one strikeout before Tyler Gilbert closed out the rest of the seventh.
The bats woke up in the bottom of the seventh, thankfully, and added four runs to the scoreboard and take a three-run lead. The top of the order kick-started another rally as the power duo of Tauchman and Meidroth knocked back-to-back hits to put the pressure on San Fran. Miguel Vargas walked to load the bases with two outs, turning the opportunity over to Teel, who kept it rolling and ripped a double down the right field line to score two runs and take the lead. He was excellent Sunday, and ended up 3-for-4 with two RBIs on the day.
This evidently rattled the Giants as righthander Ryan Walker balked on the next at-bat and allowed the South Side lead to extend to two. What even happened here? Who knows — but free runs!
To cap things off, Lenyn Sosa drove in the fourth run of the inning on a ball that was destined to be a hit (.960 xBA). The South Siders headed to the eighth with a three-run lead and in good position to win if the bullpen could keep doing its job.
Gilbert had an overall shaky performance, and loaded the bases up with one out to put the go-ahead run at the plate. Venable didn’t like it either, and he turned to Mike Vasil out of the bullpen. That turned out to be the right move, as he forced Heliot Ramos to ground into a double play and escape a brutal jam.
The offense started to cook again in the eighth and put runners on second and third with one out after Austin Slater bunted Taylor over and a throwing error allowed both to take an extra base. Taylor was dead in the water after taking off on contact on a weak infield grounder from Meidroth, but he was able to stop long enough for the runner to advance to third in his absence. The threat ended as Benintendi grounded out to end the inning.
To close things out in the ninth was Vasil, and he got Devers to strike out again. Though Vasil walked Flores, he triggered a double play to end the game. The win ended up given to Gilbert, and Vasil received his second save of the season.
Monday is an off-day for the Good Guys, as they travel to L.A. for a three-game set with the defending World Series champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers. Check back Tuesday for game coverage. First pitch will be at 9:10 p.m. CT, so make sure to get a nap in!
Futility Watch
White Sox 2025 Record: 28-56, tied for the third-worst start in White Sox history and tied for the 86th-worst start in baseball history. A 28-56 record projects to 54-108 over a full season. A year ago, the record-breaking White Sox were 23-61.
All-Time White Sox Record (1901-2025, 19,290 games) 9,622-9,668 (.4988). It’s been 128 games since the White Sox had an all-time winning record. The White Sox are currently 46 games worse than .500 and falling under by 66 more games will land the team at its lowest point in its 125-year history.
Record Since the New Pope Was Revealed as a White Sox Fan 18-27
Race With the Colorado Rockies for to the Worst Record in 2025 9 games better
- Race to the Worst “Modern” 162-Game Record (2024 White Sox, 41-121)
- Race to the Worst “Modern” Record in a 162-Game Season (1962 Mets, 40-120-1, finished three percentage points worse than the 2024 White Sox)
- Race to the Most White Sox Losses (2024, 121)
- Race to the Worst White Sox Record (2024, 41-121)
13 games better, in all cases