Rays 8, White Sox 3: Reese McGuire pitched

Whatever portion of the 10,193 fans who hung around through the end of tonight's game were at least rewarded for their endurance. Reese McGuire pitched a 1-2-3 ninth on just nine pitches, and then later contributed an RBI single during the White Sox's only scoring inning to become the first White Sox pitcher to hit safely since Hanser Alberto in 2023.

The ones who only stuck around through eight innings left with the White Sox losing 8-0 because their offense was handcuffed by Jesse Scholtens of all people. Perhaps the last play they saw was Munetaka Murakami wandering off first base because he thought strike two to Sam Antonacci was strike three, and getting picked off to end the inning.

"I think he just lost track of the strikes there," Will Venable said. "He lost track of the count."

Either way, the White Sox have lost seven of their last nine, and while they avoided being shut out for the third time during this stretch, it was still one of their most dispiriting efforts of the season. Through eight innings, the White Sox only had five hits, and three came in the same scoreless frame. Andrew Benintendi had the lone extra-base hit with a triple off Scholtens, but it was with two outs, and Murakami struck out to strand him. Miguel Vargas and Colson Montgomery combined to go 0-for-8 from the 3-4 spots, and while Vargas had some decent contact throughtout the evening, Montgomery wore the golden sombrero.

"He's had some really good at-bats," Venable said. "He's seen some stretches where he seems really locked in, and yeah, today was one of those nights where he wasn't feeling it out there."

It all sapped energy from an MLB debut for Antonacci that was largely as advertised, and mostly for the better. He dropped a single in front of right fielder Jake Fraley in his first plate appearance, then drew a walk in his last trip to the plate, scoring the team's first run of the night. He played an errorless second base, including a diving stab up the middle that saved a run, albeit temporarily. His major league career starts the way his Triple-A career was paused: with a .500 OBP.

But he also ran into an out when he tried advancing on a ball in the dirt, only for Hunter Feduccia to pick it cleanly and cut him down at second despite his best swim move. The miscalculation proved costly, as Tanner Murray and Reese McGuire singled later in the inning. Alas, Luisangel Acuña's 101.2-mph two-out grounder was hit right at Junior Caminero, so the White Sox notched three hits without scoring a run.

"It’s a learning moment," Antonacci said. "It’s the big leagues now. You may be able to get away with that in the lower minor league levels, but here it’s a little different."

At least Antonacci was able to break the shutout in the ninth. After seeing his first attempt at his final plate appearance end prematurely with Mason Englert on the mound, he returned to the plate in the ninth against Ian Seymour, who walked him on four pitches, and then Tanner Murray on five. Derek Hill dropped a single to load the bases, and Antonacci came home via #WILDPITCHOFFENSE to dodge the shutout. McGuire contributed his RBI single, and then Hill scored when Acuña grounded into a double play that snapped whatever dreams the Sox had of a more illustrious rally.

White Sox pitchers dug too deep a hole, anyway. Sean Burke made it through the order once without allowing a run but Junior Caminero whipped an elevated curve inside the left field foul pole for a solo shot, foreshadowing a more difficult rest of the evening.

"I kind of left a lot on the table there," Burke said. "There's some execution stuff and looking back on it now, watching some at-bats back, there are some different ways we could have attacked some guys with two strikes, went for the punch or went for weak contact, so I think just kind of learning from that."

A pair of singles and a sac bunt put runners on second and third with one out in the fifth. Antonacci was able to make the aforementioned diving stop on Caminero's grounder up the middle to keep the trailing run from scoring, but Jonathan Aranda made it moot by lining an 0-2 changeup into the right field corner, giving the Rays a 3-0 lead. Jake Fraley made it 4-0 by leading off the sixth by socking a middle-middle 92-mph fastball out to right, and Burke's night ended after just one more out. He was able to last 5⅓ innings without his best stuff, but he also walked more batters (three) than he struck out (two), and only produced three whiffs on the evening.

Tyler Gilbert, fresh off being recalled from Charlotte, didn't make a case for staying power in the seventh. He issued a pair of one-out walks to Caminero and Aranda, but he left what was supposed to be an inside 0-2 sinker outside, and Yandy Díaz laced it to right field for an RBI double. Aranda stopped at third, but not for long, as Jonny DeLuca came off the bench and delivered a fly to left that barely cleared the wall in left center to put the game even further out of reach.

Bullet points:

*Jordan Leasure is the opener for Anthony Kay on Thursday.

*Before the game, anthem singer Gerald Chaney collapsed while singing "Lift Every Voice and Sing" as part of the commemoration of Jackie Robinson Day. Medical personnel attended to him on the field, and he was carted off on a stretcher and taken to the hospital for further evaluation.

"I was really glad to hear that he is doing well, but obviously a scary moment," Venable said. "Everyone did a great job in responding and did the best to make sure he was all right. So, really good news to hear that he is all right."

Record: 6-12 | Box score | Statcast