White Sox Weekly July 6-19, 2026

Allie WeselMon, July 20, 2026 at 1:37 PM UTC·10 min read

Before the White Sox could get to a well-deserved All-Star break, there were two home series left to tackle. The Boston Red Sox came to Chicago after sweeping the Angels on the road, with a record of 40-48. As of Sunday, July 19, the East Coast squad has won 13 games in a row and the South Siders were standing right in the path of destruction. Chicago had been coming off their first winning road trip since April 17-23.

Naturally, the White Sox got swept. Over the three-game set the offense scored a total of two runs to Boston’s 15. Needless to say, Chicago never stood a chance. Two of the three visiting starters recorded quality starts while the home team’s longest outing was by Anthony Kay, who went 5 1/3 innings in the series finale. He gave up two runs on four hits, two walks, and four strikeouts, but when the hitting can’t get a single thing going that will only be enough to earn a loss.

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The two RBIs of the series were recorded by Kyle Teel and Andrew Benintendi. The three-game stumble does not deserve much more attention, especially not more than a week after the fact.

July 10 marked not only the start of a new series against the Athletics, but the return of Munetaka Murakami. The first baseman missed six weeks due to a hamstring injury, and wasn’t only coming back for the final series of the first half, it was announced that Mune would be the eighth and final participant in the Home Run Derby. The lefty batter was also tapped to replace Byron Buxton on the American League roster to earn his first All-Star nod. In his return to the big leagues, Murakami went 1-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored. On the flip side, he also earned himself a “coveted” golden sombrero.

The rest of the team in the series opener against the Athletics turned the hit machine on and, no matter how hard the opposing defense tried it could not figure out how to turn it off. There were many stars of the show in the 14-1 win, but in particular was Tristan Peters.

If the center fielder would have had a 4-for-4 night, that would have been great. What makes that type of night even better is when those four hits equate to a cycle with four RBIs and two runs. The effort started in the bottom of the third inning, with a double to center field.

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In the bottom of the fifth inning, Peters got the easiest part of the cycle out of the way with a single to right field. I say the easiest part, as if I have hit for the cycle in MLB.

The White Sox scored eight of their runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. They sent 12 batters to the plate, which gave the center fielder an opportunity to get two hits in the same inning. After Teel drew a leadoff walk, Peters launched a ball over the fence in right field for a two-run homer. Eight batters later, it was time for him to come up to the plate again. For the third time in the night, he sent a ball to right field. This time it was a ground ball down the line. The Rate is not a triple-friendly field — unless you are Peters and you hit the ball exactly in the spot he hit it to. The newest cycle hitter on the South Side became just the third player to hit for the cycle and have two of those hits come in the same inning.

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Being the No. 9 hitter, there are fewer at-bats to be had in any given game. Peters is also just the fifth player since 1900 to hit for the cycle from the No. 9 spot. Conveniently, Peters woke up on Saturday morning to the surprise of an All-Star nod, replacing Nick Kurtz on the roster. Hats off to our Banana Boy.

Other rock stars of this series opener included Miguel Vargas (3-for-4 with two runs, three RBIs, and a home run). Sean Burke got it done on the mound with seven innings of work, walking no one and striking out nine. The single run he gave up in the seventh inning was a solo shot to Tyler Soderstrom.

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When teams score 14 runs in one game, fans will often say something along the lines of, “Don’t use up all your runs in one day” or “Spread out the runs over a couple of games.” July 11 was exactly why people say these things.

White Sox pitching once again showed up and showed out. Five pitchers (with Erick Fedde doing the bulk of the work with four innings) recorded six strikeouts, issued four walks, and gave up no runs on four hits. There are days where a shutout performance by the pitching staff is needed, and this particular day was one of those. The offense recorded five hits during the game. A two-out walk and an RBI double thanks to Colson Montgomery and Chase Meidroth was the recipe the team needed to scratch across the lone run of the game. The Good Guys rolled into the final game of the series with an opportunity to sweep the A’s and piece together a .500 homestand.

How does a team go from scoring two runs over three games to 24 in the same number of games? Please contact the South Side offense. On July 12, the offense responded to the Athletics’ earning a run in the top of the first with six runs of their own in the bottom of the same inning. In the bottom of the fifth, they tacked on two more to make it a 9-1 victory.

Noah Schultz pieced together five innings and threw 74 pitches, walked none, struck out four and, after giving up a solo home run in the first, completed four shutout innings. For once, Seranthony Domínguez pitched in a game and allowed no baserunners. The rest of the bullpen for the day also did their duty and kept the A’s from scoring more than a run. They got a taste of what the White Sox experienced earlier in the week, scoring just two runs in the series.

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The big hits in this victory came from Sam Antonacci, who opened the game with a solo home run. A handful of batters later, Braden Montgomery hit the third dinger of his young career to score not only himself but Benintendi and Teel. A win like that will have you going to the break feeling good about sharing a piece of the top of the division with Cleveland.

The White Sox had quite the representation in Philadelphia for the All-Star break. Monday, Murakami got his shot at the Home Run Derby. In full honesty, I was not thrilled to hear the guy just coming back from the IL was hitting in the HRD. Als0 in full honesty, it was utterly awesome to see a White Sox player in the HRD. It also worked out that Mune only hit nine home runs in the first round and did not advance any further. It was a fun evening for fans and the players alike, but also one that ended with our first baseman’s hamstring intact.

Tuesday it was time to see our three representatives in the All-Star Game. Vargas was the first to enter the game, as a pinch-runner after Junior Caminero got hit in the hand by a pitch. Vargas stayed in for the rest of the game at third base. In the eighth inning, the third baseman hit a 433-foot bomb to the second deck of Citizen’s Bank Park.

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Both Mune and Peters both got an at-bat in the game, and both struck out. Hitting against the best pitching in the National League has its drawback. Many, including me, are still butt hurt that a stupid two-RBI single was the reason Cody Bellinger of the Yankees won the MVP. Vargas will always be MVP in my heart.

The team picked things back up in Toronto. Rest is exactly what the doctor ordered for this offense. The White Sox showed up in Canada ready to rock. The 12-4 victory saw five runs score in the second, three in the fifth, and four in the seventh. The fifth run came on an Antonacci homer to right field:

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Braden had himself a night, going 1-for-4 with two runs and four RBIs. After reaching on a fielder’s choice for his first RBI of the game, his last three came on his first career triple to clear the bases.

Tyler Schweitzer earned his first MLB win in Friday’s victory. His three-inning outing to close the game out was the second time he was tapped to go three or more innings. The reason he was given the win is because Kay fell short of the five innings to qualify for the win. The lefty reliever was determined to be the most effective reliever, and got to take a newly-authenticated ball home with him.

Saturday was again a day you ask your team to not use all their runs up in the same game. The pitching staff had yet another stellar showing, giving up one run, issuing three walks, and allowing five hits in eight innings of work.

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Davis Martin started the second half much more respectably than he ended it, going 5 2/3 innings, striking out five and walking two. Since returning from the injured list on June 21, Jordan Hicks has yet to give up a run. He is mowing down batters, striking out 15 in his nine innings of work. His dominant presence in the bullpen is a welcome sight and a reason why the final was a measly 1-0.

Sunday’s game became a rubber match on the morning’s Peacock national broadcast. Trey Yesavage got the start for the Blue Jays, and the booth spent quite a bit of time talking about how his last start before the break was atrocious. I just looked at the stat line and I can confirm this. On July 11, the righthander faced the Padres in San Diego and did not make it past the second inning. In 1 2/3 innings of work, he gave up four earned runs on one hit and seven walks. If you thought that’s the pitcher that showed up for the series finale, you would be wrong.

Yesavage did give up three runs and earned the loss in the game, but he went six strong innings and punched out nine White Sox batters along the way. It was a quality start he probably needed for morale’s sake. If Toronto’s pitching was solid, Chicago’s would be described as outstanding. Pitching gave up a goose egg, with Burke leading the way. He gave up just two hits and one walk over 6 2/3 innings of work. Martin was looking like he was going to emerge as this season’s ace on the staff, but right now things are moving in Burke’s direction.

A Benintendi sacrifice fly, a Colson home run, and a Braden single were the three RBIs for the day. Colson’s 24th long ball of the year came off the bat at 106 mph and traveled 388 feet. A second road series victory in the books for July feels nice when you’re staring down the AL West leading Texas Rangers next.

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The White Sox will open the week in Arlington where Erick Fedde is set to face Jacob DeGrom. The good news is, the Chicago club has the 17th ranked strength of schedule the rest of the way. The bad news is they have to get through Texas, the Yankees, Houston, the Rays, and the Red Sox in Boston before they can get to some of the weaker teams on their schedule.

There is a lot of butt clenching ahead as we see if the White Sox can continue to ride the magic all the way to the playoffs.