Call it a winning streak!
Not for the White Sox. Taking two of three from an AL Central rival in what wound up being emphatic 10-1 fashion is always satisfying, but it wasn't two in a row. No, folks, I'm celebrating me and my absolute heater of 10 wins in 11 recap tries. Put me in every day, Brett!
The box score does betray the tension that underlined the majority of this one. Hosting their first Sunday Night Baseball broadcast as a first place team since 2008, the tone of the game was lively early, though the bulk of the early action was a straightforward redux of the frustrating offensive play the Sox have produced since the All-Star break. They rank near the bottom of the league with a .240 batting average with RISP since then, and it feels like that average should be a lot lower, because getting runners in from the basepaths without the longball has been like pulling teeth lately.
The theme continued with verve for what I'd call the majority of the game — though ultimately, and fortunately, not the entirety of it. Sam Antonacci led off the first and fifth innings with a double, sandwiching back-to-back free bases from the non-brothers Montgomery to open the second frame and preceding Tristan Peters' own leadoff double an inning later. They even queued up a rally in the third inning, when Miguel Vargas and Andrew Benintendi reached base before Colson Montgomery's second punchout of the game ended the threat. Colson finished with a golden sombrero, bringing him to 197 on the season. When he presumably reaches the ignominious 200-K milestone, he'll make the White Sox the only team to have three separate players break the 200 strikeout threshold in a season. Yoán Moncada did it most recently, and I don't think I need to type the name of the one who did it first.
If you've been following the team as of late, it won't be surprising that almost none of those White Sox rallies resulted in any runs, as Twins starter Bailey Ober labored through 4 1/3 innings with highly-diminished stuff. Still, when the Minnesota pen got the call, only one Sox run had been stuck on the board, as Antonacci did make his way around in the fifth, after Murakami shot a single through the right side:

#white #call #since #majority

CHICAGO (AP) — Ryan Jeffers hit a go-ahead, three-run home run in the fifth inning and Taj Bradley settled down after a rough start to lead the Minnesota Twins to a 6-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Saturday night.
Bradley (11-6) gave up two home runs in the first inning but retired the next 10 batters he faced, allowing four runs on four hits in five innings. Four Twins relievers allowed two hits over four scoreless innings, with Yoendrys Gómez picking up his 21st save.
The Twins pulled within six games of the White Sox in the AL Central and 3 1/2 games of the third AL wild card. The White Sox lost for the fifth time in seven games.
Munetaka Murakami hit his 30th home run in the first inning, a two-run shot that gave the White Sox three players with 30 or more home runs, along with Colson Montgomery and Miguel Vargas, for the first time since 2008.
Murakami became the fourth ****** anese-born player to hit at least 30 home runs in a season. Montgomery hit his 31st later in the first, a record for White Sox shortstops.

#white #runs #games

The Chicago Bears kick off the season a week from tomorrow, and I know you all want to stock up on some fresh new gear for 2026, which is why I'm sharing these new deals for you!
First up, my guys at Breaking T are running a Labor Day Weekend sale until midnight (EST) on Monday, September 7. Just use the promo code LDW15 for 15% off all their Chicago Bears-inspired apparel featuring Caleb Williams, Rome Odunze, Colston Loveland, and more. But Breaking T is more than just the NFL, as they have stuff for your favorite players in baseball (Pete Crow-Armstrong or Munetaka Murakami), college sports, hockey, and more!
Hit our Breaking T link right here and stock up!
My guys at FOCO are also running a Labor Day sale!
You can get 30% off right now with their Labor Day Hat Sale! Use the promo code HATS30 from now until September 7 at 11:59 pm EST to stock up on some new Bears hats! They have several logos and styles to choose from, so take advantage of the sale while you can!

#sale #until

The White Sox disappointed in the first game of this four-game series in Houston, falling 6-3 to the Astros.
Things were calm until the third inning, when Anthony Kay saw a little base path trouble after a throwing error and a walk put two runners on. Yordan Alvarez sent Nick Allen in to score with a ground out, but a fly out straight to Sam Antonacci ended any further damage.
The White Sox knotted the score 1-1 right away, as Colson Montgomery doubled in the top of the fourth with one out, Chase Meidroth singlingand him home. Tristan Peters was plunked, and in a pickoff attempt, the ball got away, sending Meidroth to third. Antonacci picked up a walk (without being hit!) to load the bases with two outs. Houston starter Peter Lambert's command in the fourth drastically dropped, as he walked Munetaka Murakami to force in the lead run. Miguel Vargas left the bases loaded with a liner to second, but the Good Guys were up, 2-1.
Braden Montgomery got caught in-between on a Cam Smith liner to right, and as has happened too frequently that ball skipped past him for a triple. Kay was frazzled by the three-bagger, so much so that Nelson Velázquez crushed a home deep and high to left, making it 3-2, Astros.
It got worse from there, as the White Sox mustered no offense while Houston added on. In the fifth, three singles loaded the bases, with just one out. Instead of a pitch that would prompt a ground-ball double play to end the inning and keep the score tight, Kay walked in a run. Kay bounced back with a K, but with two outs was pulled in favor of Trevor Richards, who surrendered a double to Smith double and stretching the deficit to 6-2.

#white #ball #astros #montgomery

The Chicago White Sox are having a pretty magical season. Despite losing more than 100 games in each of the last three seasons, the ChiSox suddenly find themselves in first-place in the AL Central with fewer than 30 games remaining.
It amost feels like too quick a turnaround. This team would've needed multiple high-end acquisitions or multiple elite prospects to graduate. They've certainly had a few between Colson Montgomery, Braden Montgomery and Munetaka Murakami, but it didn't seem like that would be enough to turn around what has been a basement-dwelling franchise in just one year.
It's almost like ... they've been the beneficiaries of divine intervention.
On Thursday, Aug. 27, the team gave renowned fan and Chicago native Pope Leo XIV his own White Sox-branded mitre (the tall, ceremonial hat worn by the Pope), a solid offering to someone who perhaps was sending daily prayers to his favorite franchise.

#franchise

A blowout loss is a tough way to start a series at home in a playoff race, but the South Siders hope to flush Monday's game and come out strong behind Anthony Kay today. After defeating the Sox yesterday, the Rangers now hold a half-game lead over the Houston Astros in the AL West, while Chicago's lead in the AL Central has shrunk to just 2 1/2 games over the Cleveland Guardians. The Guardians have rebounded from their rough stretch, winning seven of their last 10 and riding a five-game winning streak after defeating the Los Angeles Angels yesterday. The Angels, of course, had opportunities to come back but naturally didn't.
The South Siders are 5-5 in their last 10, and the offense has been struggling as a whole lately, basically living and dying by the long ball as we've seen in the last several games. In August, the White Sox are hitting just .208 with runners in scoring position as a team — the second-worst average in baseball over that stretch — while also racking up the most strikeouts (70). It also probably doesn't help that both Colson Montgomery and Munetaka Murakami are building Strikeout City from the ground up, with Colson leading MLB in Ks over the last two weeks (24 in 51 ABs) and Mune's 21 ranking third in baseball. Woof.
With both the rotation and bullpen continuing to struggle, the pitching staff took another hit when the White Sox announced that Huascar Brazobán is headed to the IL with a left lat strain. Righthander Jonathan Cannon is being called up from Triple-A Charlotte to help fill the hole. Jonathan Cannon is most certainly not the answer, but at this point, the front office seems ready to try anything.
The only other roster update for today is that our sweet (mostly) clutch Andrew Benintendi has been placed on the bereavement list, and Rikuu Nishida will rejoin the team in his absence. We send our thoughts to Andrew and his family during this time.
Regardless of what the masses may think, lefthander Anthony Kay has been solid for the Good Guys and is probably the second-best starter they currently have behind Sean Burke. Kay will make his 25th start of the season and has a 3.96 ERA and a 1.327 WHIP over 127 1/3 innings. He seems to keep improving, and in August alone, Kay has allowed just seven earned runs over 23 2/3 innings (four starts), good for a cool 2.66 ERA and a 2-1 record. If you ask me, his great outing against the Atlanta Braves last week went unrewarded because the offense was nowhere to be found.

#Angels #colson

CHICAGO — The Chicago White Sox wouldn't be where they are without Munetaka Murakami and Colson Montgomery.
But to get to where they want to go, they're going to need a lot more consistency from those two sluggers down the stretch.
Entering Monday's three-game series with the Texas Rangers — the Sox lost the first game, 11-2 — they had a 3 1/2 game lead over the Cleveland Guardians in the American League Central and remained in the No. 2 spot in the AL seeding thanks to the subpar showing of the AL West teams.
The Rangers and Houston Astros were tied entering Monday with records of 65-66, and chances are good the Sox could meet one of them in the AL Division Series. The Sox can't overlook any team, obviously, but neither the Rangers, Astros nor Toronto Blue Jays would be considered a major obstacle in a best-of-five series.
Everything is breaking the Sox way so far, and their playoff chances are greatly enhanced by the likelihood of avoiding an AL East team until the AL Championship Series. They're in the fight to the finish, and their fans appear to be joining in … if Sunday's upper deck brawl at Rate Field is any indication.

#they 're

The White Sox got steamrolled, 11-2, by a team that entered the game worse than .500. The pitching was terrible, the bats were ice-cold, and the Rangers took advantage of the long ball on several occasions.
José Urquidy did not have a great start, tossing 39 pitches in his first frame. He walked the leadoff batter and the third batter, then hit Brandon Nimmo with a pitch to load the bases with only one out. Ezequiel Duran grounded into a force out at second, but sent Joc Pederson home. Evan Carter doubled, putting the second run on the board. With two outs, Jake Burger picked up a walk, but a pop-up from Elias Díaz would finally stop the damage. Miguel Vargas singled with two outs, and Andrew Benintendi nearly tied the game and would have with just a bit more wind, but Nimmo jumped up to rob the good guys of any runs.
With two outs in the top of the second, Corey Seager singled and was safe at second after Colson Montgomery scooped up a single from Wyatt Langford. Drew Romo blew through the first challenge as Nimmo picked up a walk to load the bases, with Urquidy already passing the 50-pitch mark. Chase Meidroth slipped, unable to grab what should've been an easy out, and another run came in on an infield single from Duran. Pederson, after not getting his challenge call in on time on a strikeout, continued to throw a tantrum, leading to his ejection. Romo ended additional on-field drama by tagging home for the inning-ending force-out. Braden Montgomery singled for the Good Guys, and with two outs, Tristan Peters took a slider and made the Rangers pay, cutting the deficit to 3-2. That home run put him in double-digits and his 10th homer this season:
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With one out in the top of the third, Elias Díaz was hit by a pitch, and Cody Freeman singled. Seager caused more damage with a two-run double, giving the Rangers a 5-2 lead with two outs. The frame ended with a pop fly, but also on 93 pitches for Urquidy. The the bottom half Munetaka Murakami singled and Miguel Vargas walked to put two on base early. Benintendi grounded into a fielder's choice, and Braden Montgomery picked up a walk to load the bases. Of course, the next two batters struck out to strand all three runners.

#rangers #second

The White Sox are looking to rebound on the North Side after a heartbreaking, walk-off loss to the Cubs in extra innings Monday. With a chance to even the series tonight, they are turning to a (fairly) exhausted bullpen to handle Tuesday's game, with lefthander Bryan Hudson getting the ball first for the seventh time this season.
Hudson has been excellent as an opener when called upon, holding a 1.29 ERA across seven frames while allowing just one run on three hits and five strikeouts — with a solo homer serving as the only major blemish in those outings. Hudson has amassed a 3.14 ERA in 51 2/3 innings, alongside a 1.277 WHIP, and has given up just two home runs all season in 54 games. He tends to thrive more in low- to medium-leverage situations and has the lowest ERA (0.34) with the bases empty (26 2/3 innings), making the lefty the perfect candidate for an opener.
Without any corresponding roster moves from the Good Guys, it seems that the White Sox will roll with either Erick Fedde or José Urquidy as the long reliever options, likely hoping to get deep enough in the game — with a lead, ideally — to turn to Sean Newcomb, Huascar Brazobán, and Grant Taylor, maybe even in that order.
Since the Cubs will have a righty on the mound with Kevin Gausman making the start, the lineup looks much more solid from the South Siders tonight, especially with Colson Montgomery returning to the batting order, hitting sixth and playing shortstop. With the right-handed matchup, Sam Antonacci will slot back into leadoff, followed by Munetaka Murakami, Miguel Vargas, and our clutch king, Andrew Benintendi. Tonight would be the perfect night for the Mune and Miguel combo to blast off with a pair of homers, but I'll take anyone stepping up to be the hero if it means we don't have to witness the Sox lose the way they did yesterday.
Chicago White Sox Lineup

#innings #Cubs #game

The Crosstown Classic started with a soul-crushing extra-inning heartbreak for the White Sox with a Cubs walk-off. Despite the game staying close and competitive, poor challenges and sloppy defense doomed the South Siders. The Sox fell 7-5 in the opener.
The game got off to an ugly start after the White Sox went down in order and Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki answered with back-to-back homers. With two outs, the Cubs threatened again with back-to-back singles, but Pedro Ramírez sent a ball right to Brenton Doyle, ending the first.
After wasting an ABS challenge to start the third, Sam Antonacci reached anyway when he was plunked. But that wouldn't yield any good results, as Shōta Imanaga shut down the next three White Sox batters. Luis Castillo seemed to have settled in by the bottom of the third, and the guys behind him helped strand the only baserunner in the frame.
The first hit for the White Sox came in the fourth via Miguel Vargas, right after a walk to Munetaka Murakami. Then, with one swing of the bat, Randal Grichuk gave the Good Guys the lead with a three-run homer.
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#back #good #walk

The lopsided pitching matchup didn't materialize, but it turned out not to matter, as big bats beat big arms.
As he crossed into more innings than he had pitched all of last season (134) Sean Burke had his worst start since June 13, giving up four earned runs on five hits and three walks in 4 1/3 innings that took him 72 pitches. His velocity was off a couple of ticks and his command wasn't terrific, either. The first and biggest blow was a two-run triple in the second on Brett Callahan's first major league pitch. Callahan then was knocked in on a Max Clark single to make it 3-0 (Callahan's next time up he was called out on strikes by home plate umpire Adam Beck on a clear ball, but his attempt at a challenge was declared too late by Beck, who had a terrible day overall.)
The Sox got one run back on a Tristan Peters opposite-field pop-up ground-rule double (those corners in Comerica are really short) and two grounders. The Tigers got it back to 4-1 on an opposite-field homer off Sam Antonacci's glove by Colt Keith in the third, then in the fifth they learned why the dreaded leadoff walk is so dreaded: Tigers starter Drew Anderson, at his highest pitch count all year, pinned Peters down 0-2 then threw four straight ****** , followed by a slider that didn't slide that Drew Romo slid 386 feet to right to make it 4-3.
A Randal Grichuk pinch-double and Colson Montgomery broken-bat single in the sixth tied the game. Next, Tigers lefty reliever Todd Holton again proved the dreaded-leadoff-walk rule by giving Antonacci (who doesn't hit lefties well) a five-pitch pass and following that by setting one on a tee for Munetaka Murakami, only to see it land 393 feet away. Make it 6-4, White Sox.
The Tigers cut it to 6-5 in the seventh when Dillon Dingler broke an 0-for-29 slump with a double to score Gleyber Torres, at which point Mune proved he's not just another pretty bat:

#drew

The Chicago White Sox pulled off a crucial road sweep of the Detroit Tigers, delivering the final blow with a 7-5 victory on Sunday.
Detroit had previously fallen to Chicago 9-5 on Friday and 4-3 on Saturday. It's the first time that the White Sox have swept the Tigers since 2022.
The White Sox's win came despite a mediocre showing from ace Sean Burke, who allowed four runs early in the game and was pulled after 4 1/3 innings. However, a two-run home run Munetaka Murakami and a vital relief outing from Sean Newcomb ended up being the difference in the sweep-clinching win.
Detroit struck first, scoring three runs in the bottom of the second off RBIs from Brett Callahan — a recent call-up who hit the RBI triple on his first major league pitch — and Max Clark. Chicago rookie Sam Antonacci got one back with an RBI single in the third, but a Colt Keith solo homer gave the Tigers an early 4-1 lead.
The White Sox then slowly built their way back into the game, first with Drew Romo's two-run homer in the fifth and then an RBI single from Colson Montgomery to tie the game at 4-all.

#Chicago #first #pulled

The Detroit Tigers got swept in their most important series of the season so far.
Despite five competitive innings from starting pitcher Drew Anderson and a historic first big league at-bat from left fielder Brett Callahan, the Tigers lost 7-5 to the Chicago White Sox on Sunday, Aug. 16, at Comerica Park in Detroit. The loss pushes the Tigers to 60-64, with Detroit now 5½ games behind the first-place White Sox in the American League Central standings.
Anderson allowed three runs over five innings in his longest outing of the season, but Tigers lefty reliever Tyler Holton allowed the game-tying hit to shortstop Colson Montgomery in the sixth inning and the go-ahead, two-run opposite-field home run to first baseman Munetaka Murakami in the seventh. It was Murakami's second home run of the series and team-leading 28th of the season, a mark third baseman Miguel Vargas later tied with a solo home run in the ninth inning.
Callahan tripled in his first MLB at-bat, driving in the first two runs of the game in the second inning. The 24-year-old rookie finished 1-for-2 and was pinch-hit for in the sixth inning, ending his debut early.
But despite Callahan's historic first game, the Tigers scored only one run after the third inning. And after entering the series in a playoff spot and with a chance to take over first place in the division, Detroit now heads on the road with falling playoff odds.

#inning #game #home

The Detroit Tigers got swept in their most important series of the season so far.
Despite five competitive innings from starting pitcher Drew Anderson and a historic first big league at-bat from left fielder Brett Callahan, the Tigers lost 7-5 to the Chicago White Sox on Sunday, Aug. 16, at Comerica Park in Detroit. The loss pushes the Tigers to 60-64, with Detroit now 5½ games behind the first-place White Sox in the American League Central standings.
Anderson allowed three runs over five innings in his longest outing of the season, but Tigers lefty reliever Tyler Holton allowed the game-tying hit to shortstop Colson Montgomery in the sixth inning and the go-ahead, two-run opposite-field home run to first baseman Munetaka Murakami in the seventh. It was Murakami's second home run of the series and team-leading 28th of the season, a mark third baseman Miguel Vargas later tied with a solo home run in the ninth inning.
Callahan tripled in his first MLB at-bat, driving in the first two runs of the game in the second inning. The 24-year-old rookie finished 1-for-2 and was pinch-hit for in the sixth inning, ending his debut early.
But despite Callahan's historic first game, the Tigers scored only one run after the third inning. And after entering the series in a playoff spot and with a chance to take over first place in the division, Detroit now heads on the road with falling playoff odds.

#first #game #anderson #callahan

The Detroit Tigers got swept in their most important series of the season so far.
Despite five competitive innings from starting pitcher Drew Anderson and a historic first big league at-bat from left fielder Brett Callahan, the Tigers lost 7-5 to the Chicago White Sox on Sunday, Aug. 16, at Comerica Park in Detroit. The loss pushes the Tigers to 60-64, with Detroit now 5½ games behind the first-place White Sox in the American League Central standings.
Anderson allowed three runs over five innings in his longest outing of the season, but Tigers lefty reliever Tyler Holton allowed the game-tying hit to shortstop Colson Montgomery in the sixth inning and the go-ahead, two-run opposite-field home run to first baseman Munetaka Murakami in the seventh. It was Murakami's second home run of the series and team-leading 28th of the season, a mark third baseman Miguel Vargas later tied with a solo home run in the ninth inning.
Callahan tripled in his first MLB at-bat, driving in the first two runs of the game in the second inning. The 24-year-old rookie finished 1-for-2 and was pinch-hit for in the sixth inning, ending his debut early.
But despite Callahan's historic first game, the Tigers scored only one run after the third inning. And after entering the series in a playoff spot and with a chance to take over first place in the division, Detroit now heads on the road with falling playoff odds.

#detroit #inning #season

With over 40 games remaining in the MLB season, 2026 is shaping up to be one of the best years for **** anese-born hitters — and it's being led by a pair of rookies.
USA TODAY **** yzed home run data for **** anese-born players to uncover the single seasons with the most homers hit by such players.
Munetaka Murakami of the Chicago White Sox has hit 26 home runs in his first MLB season so far. That is tied for the ninth-best home run season by a **** anese-born player.
DIG DEEPER: Munetaka Murakami shines with 2 HR, career-high 6 RBI on bobblehead day
Fellow rookie Kazuma Okamoto of Toronto is two home runs back with 24. Both players have hit more homers than any other **** anese-born rookie, eclipsing the 22-homer season Shohei Ohtani had in 2018.

#runs

CHICAGO (AP) — Colson Montgomery's 26th homer, a three-run shot, capped Chicago's four-run third inning and the White Sox held on to beat the Cleveland Guardians 5-3 on Sunday.
Munetaka Murakami and Randal Grichuk each doubled in a run as the White Sox won their second straight, increasing their AL Central lead to 3 1/2 games over second-place Detroit. Cleveland and Minnesota fell four games back.
Brenton Doyle had two hits to help Chicago win its 61st game, one more than in 2025 when the team finished last in the American League at 60-102.
Steven Kwan had two hits for the Guardians (58-61), who lost for the fifth time in six games. Kwan and Murakami extended their on-base streaks to 25 games, tied for the longest active run in the majors.
The game was delayed by rain for 2 hours, 23 minutes, after the first inning with the Guardians ahead 2-1. Both managers replaced their starters — Chicago's Davis Martin and Cleveland's Joey Cantillo — when play resumed.

#games #murakami #kwan #inning

CHICAGO (AP) — Munetaka Murakami homered and Tristan Peters and Chase Meidroth each drove in a pair of runs in Chicago's five-run sixth inning as the White Sox beat the Cleveland Guardians 6-3 Saturday, snapping a season-worst four-game skid.
Braden Montgomery singled in a run in the eighth as Chicago (60-56) increased its first-place lead in the AL Central to three games over Cleveland and Minnesota.
Rhys Hoskins had two hits, including a two-run homer. Angel Genao went deep in the seventh and added a single for Cleveland, which has lost four of five.
Anthony Kay (9-5) allowed two runs on six hits in six innings. The left-hander struck out four and walked one in a second straight solid start. Four relievers followed, and Grant Taylor worked around a single in the the ninth for his sixth save.
Gavin Williams allowed two runs on three hits over 5 2/3 innings, striking out seven and walked two.

#cleveland #single

The Yankees scored early and held on, despite some ninth inning dramatics, to beat the White Sox, 3-2.
-- Anthony Volpe put the Yankees on the board in the second inning, nearly hitting a three-run home run, but settling for an RBI double that bounced off CF Tristan Peters' glove. Max Schuemann then found a way to drive the other runners in, bouncing a double over third base to give the Yanks an early 3-0 lead.
Luckily, that was all they needed.
-- Gerrit Cole dazzled in his 12th start of the year, tossing six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts. He allowed just four hits and walked two, lowering his ERA to 3.57.
The right-hander breezed through the first three innings, allowing just one hit with four strikeouts. He then ran into a bit of trouble in the fourth inning as Munetaka Murakami doubled and two walks loaded the bases, but found a way to escape without a run crossing the plate after 32 pitches.

#yankees #three

It wasn't a pretty opening to the series, but the Yankees found their way Monday night in Chicago. Max Fried struggled mightily in his second start returning from the IL, putting them in a big hole early with an offense that hasn't been ****** e to exploding lately, but a pair of big innings turned this game from a deficit to a 9-5 win.
Last time out Fried was extremely sharp, going five strong despite a low pitch limit blanking the Pirates with just a single hit and walk going against him. Randal Grichuk greeted him with a leadoff double, and the wheels fell off from there. Munetaka Murakami followed up with a single to put runners on the corners, and after Fried struck out Miguel Vargas for the first out of the inning Colson Montgomery ripped a single to the right side that Jazz Chisholm Jr. barely couldn't corral scoring Grichuk. Chase Meridoth was up next and lifted a sacrifice fly to bring in a second run, and then Braden Montgomery lined a triple over the head of a diving Max Schuemann that brought in a third. It looked like Schuemann might've gotten messed up leaping for the ball, which would've complicated things for a Yankees team that is already down two of their starting outfielders, but thankfully he shook it off and stayed in the game.
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Fried calmed down from there, working two straight clean frames, but the Yankee offense wasn't getting anything going at first against the rookie Noah Schultz, who entered the game with a gaudy 6.04 ERA. Paul Goldschmidt managed a two-out single in the top of the first, but the lineup otherwise went down in order the first time through. The fourth inning finally saw them break though, starting off with a pair of walks from Ben Rice and Goldschmidt to set up a rally. Jasson Domínguez singled to left but it was hit hard enough to prevent a run from coming in, bringing Anthony Volpe up with the bases loaded and no outs. Volpe managed to bring in a run, hitting a soft grounder to short that Luisangel Acuña was just barely able to scoop up and throw to first in time to convert an out from the play.
That would be all for Schultz, as the White Sox went to their 'pen and brought in Chris Murphy. The tide was turning though, and Chisholm provided the big blow of the inning with a double out to center to tie the game at three. Chisholm then stole third base on a head's up play noticing that the catcher was lazily flicking the ball back to the pitcher, and José Caballero walked to pass the baton over to Spencer Jones. Jones managed to convert, fighting off three foul ****** before grounding a ball in front of Caballero who was running on the pitch to prevent a double play opportunity and give the Yankees a 4-3 lead.

#fried

Advanced stats say this Guardians slugger is primed for a big second half originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Cleveland Guardians are right in the thick of things in the American League Central. While they have the same number of wins as the Chicago White Sox, the Sox edge out the Guardians in terms of win percentage.
And with the return of Munetaka Murakami, Cleveland knows they are going to have to be at their best the rest of the way out if they want to overtake the South Siders.
Luckily for the Guardians, they did just get back their big bopper, Jose Ramirez, after he spent a good chunk of time on the IL after fracturing his left hamate bone during a swing. An injury that has become quite common across hitters.
MORE: Guardians' Gavin Williams achieves rare Immaculate Inning vs. Twins

#preferred #american #Chicago

After answering a host of questions on media day, many of them asking his thoughts about a possible trade, San Diego Padres closer Mason Miller and representative at the 2026 All-Star Game went out and did what he has done all season for the Brown and Gold.
The National League’s saves leader was called upon to face just one batter to start the ninth inning and got a strikeout, as the America League All-Stars rode a three-run first inning to a 4-0 win over the National League All-Stars on Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park.
Pitching was the standout for the evening, as the National League was limited to just three hits — one more than the fewest in All-Star Game history set by the NL in 1990. The AL set a new All-Star Game record with 15 strikeouts, and the sides broke the combined strikeouts record with 27 punch-outs.
The lone batter Miller faced was Chicago White Sox rookie Munetaka Murakami, whom he pumped four consecutive fastballs against — all of them over 100 MPH. All three swings failed to make contact, as Miller overpowered the Majors’ second-highest first-year home run hitter. It was the first time he and Murakami faced off.
Miller extended his career All-Star numbers to 1 1/3 innings with three strikeouts and 11 of his 16 offerings going for strikes after having earned the win as a member of the Athletics in 2024. His appearance was the shortest appearance by a Padres representative since Kirby Yates did not appear despite being selected in 2019.

The All-Star break is officially in full swing, and following an absolutely epic Home Run Derby Monday, fans are primed and ready for the Midsummer Classic this evening. Philadelphia is hosting the festivities for the first time since 1996, bringing the best of the best to the City of Brotherly Love. The American League leads the National League all-time, 48-45, and has dominated the better part of the last three decades, losing just five times since 1997, and winning 10 of the last 12. Though we can’t forget last season, when a tied game after nine led to the first “swing-off” tiebreaker that allowed the NL to take the W as Philly’s own Kyle Schwarber won it in dramatic fashion.
Two star-studded lineups will be managed by a pair of excellent managers. Dave Roberts, the Los Angeles Dodgers skipper, is managing back-to-back years and his fifth All-Star game, and he will have five of his players on the roster. Making his managerial debut in the Midsummer Classic, Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider will be at the helm for the American League. The Jays fell to the Dodgers in a thrilling, seven-game World Series in 2025, and though Toronto hasn’t been as dominant this season, Schneider will have four players attending with Cy Young contender — and an old White Sox pal — Dylan Cease getting the start for the AL.
Leading the field with the most elected All Stars are the hometown Philadelphia Phillies, with six players represented this year, including two-time All-Star Cristopher Sánchez, who is starting on the mound for the National League. One of the best fun facts coming out of this year’s game is that Roy Halladay was the last starting pitcher to represent both the Blue Jays (2009) and the Phillies (2011). Though we will have long-time veterans with Chris Sale, Freddie Freeman, and Justin Verlander making their 10th ASG appearance, and the legendary Mike Trout was elected for the 12th time, getting the start out in center field tonight.
There are also quite a few young guys and rookies making their All-Star debut as well, as there are 11 players under 25 years old, and 36 first-timers. There is so much talent on both rosters, but I want to focus on three of those first-timers: Miguel Vargas, Munetaka Murakami, and Tristan Peters.
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PHILADELPHIA — While most of the All-Star players spent the evening Monday hanging out at parties, clubs and restaurants after the Home Run Derby, Chicago White Sox rookie center fielder Tristan Peters was stressed out at the local hospital.
Peters, one of the best rags to riches stories to make the All-Star team, even having a 17-game stint with the Savannah Bananas, was enjoying himself at the Derby on Monday, watching teammate Munetaka Murakami, when his phone buzzed.
It was his wife, Erin, who he originally met in Mesa, Arizona at Scootin’ Boots on the Arizona Line Dancing circuit.
She was in bed with their 4-month-old daughter, Elaine.
And couldn’t get up.

Jac Caglianone hit eight home runs at the 2026 Home Run Derby in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Monday night.
In the new format, Caglianone was not among the top four who advanced to the second round. Eight homers may sound like a small number for a Home Run Derby, but it's as many as hometown favorite Bryce Harper hit and one less than Chicago White Sox slugger Munetaka Murakami.
Most importantly, Caglianone did not have the lowest total among participants. That honor goes to New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice, who had seven. Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber was the last man to qualify for the bracket stage with 10 home runs, meaning Caglianone needed at least two more to get in.
Despite coming up short, Caglianone showed off his premium power and should be back in the Derby at some point in his career. He was tied for the hardest-hit ball of the night at 116 mph; Junior Caminero did it twice in the first round. Caglianone's farthest ball hit went 477 feet, which tied for 10th on the night; however, seven of the ******* hit farther came from Caminero (3) and Wilson Contreras (2).
Caglianone has emerged as a potential star for the Kansas City Royals in his first full season with the team. He is slashing .260/.321/.461 with a team-leading 15 home runs. The future is bright for Florida's all-time leader in home runs, and the Gators have a history of producing Home Run Derby champions in two-time winner Pete Alonso.

Major League Baseball's All Star celebration technically got underway yesterday even though they basically buried the Futures Game from existence by playing it concurrent with actual MLB games – Alfredo Duno started, caught 4.0 IP, and hit a 400 foot fly ball to CF that was caught.
Tonight, though, comes the Home Run Derby, and MLB isn't about to take that lightly in the marketing department. In fact, they've gone out of their way to hype the revamped format, and this edition will be carried by Netflix and Netflix only.
The event gets underway at 8 PM ET. It'll feature Red Sox slugger Willson Contreras, Jordan Walker of St. Louis, Jac Caglianone from Kansas City, Munetaka Murakami of the Pale Hose, Yankees slugger Ben Rice, Tampa's Junior Caminero, and a pair of Philadelphia homers in Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper (the event and All Star Game are in Philadelphia, if you weren't aware).
A fun twist this year is that there's no longer a timed clock against which the sluggers must face – this time, they'll get a finite number of swings and the most dingers launched on those swings takes the cake. Longest homer will be the tiebreaker should there be a tie in Round 1, while a three-swing swing-off will break any ties in subsequent rounds.
We'll see if it makes the event more watchable!

The MLB Home Run Derby lineup is set and the St. Louis Cardinals finally have a representative again. Jordan Walker will be competing with 7 others in the competition that will be streaming live on Netflix starting at 6pm central time. Here's the lineup:
Kyle Schwarber (Phillies)
Ben Rice (Yankees)
Junior Caminero (Rays)
Jordan Walker (Cardinals)
Willson Contreras (Red Sox)
Bryce Harper (Phillies)
Munetaka Murakami (White Sox)
Jac Caglianone (Royals)
According to MLB.com, here are the rules for this year's competition:
It is no longer time based
Each competitor gets 20 swings in the 1st round, 15 in the 2nd round and 15 in the 3rd round

The 2026 MLB Home Run Derby is tonight, July 13, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, the home of the Phillies.
What time is the Home Run Derby on Monday? What channel is the Home Run Derby on today?
How can you stream the Home Run Derby tonight?
Check out the TV and streaming information for the 2026 MLB Home Run Derby, which is part of the 2026 MLB All-Star Game festivities.
The Home Run Derby field consists of Junior Caminero (Tampa Bay Rays 3B), Ben Rice (New York Yankees 1B), Jac Caglianone (Kansas City Royals 1B), Willson Contreras (Boston Red Sox 1B), Jordan Walker (St. Louis Cardinals RF), Bryce Harper (Philadelphia Phillies 1B), Kyle Schwarber (Philadelphia Phillies DH) and Munetaka Murakami (Chicago White Sox 1B).

Editor's note: Follow the 2026 Home Run Derby live
Eight players are set to face off in the 2026 MLB Home Run Derby at 8 p.m. ET on July 13 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
Two Phillies players will participate: Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper. The other six are Jac Caglianone of the Kansas City Royals, Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays, Willson Contreras of the Boston Red Sox, Ben Rice of the New York Yankees, Jordan Walker of the St. Louis Cardinals and Munetaka Murakami of the Chicago White Sox.
Unsurprisingly, that list includes some of baseball's best home run hitters this season. Schwarber leads MLB with 32 homers, while Rice is third with 29 and Caminero is tied for fourth with 28. Four of the remaining five have gone long at least 20 times.
Track all the regular-season home runs belted so far in 2026 by the eight players below. This graphic has their homers laid over Citizens Bank Park, providing a glimpse of how they might fare in the Derby itself:

MLB Home Run Derby lineup: Meet the 2026 participants, from Bryce Harper to Munetaka Murakami originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
As baseball's stars descend on Citizens Bank Park, eight sluggers have the chance to light up the Philadelphia night with the home run ball on Monday.
The Home Run Derby features two hometown favorites, a rookie who quickly emerged as one of the best power hitters in baseball, an MVP contender and more, with a $1 million prize on the line.
Outside of the Phillies' derby duo, this year's field features plenty of youth — and the youngest of the bunch already proved last year that he is built for this stage.
Here's a complete look at the 2026 Home Run Derby lineup.