When the White Sox greeted Jacob deGrom with a Sam Antonacci walk and a Munetaka Murakami double and failed to score either, it was easy to envision another Shane Biebering, especially as Texas touched up Erick Fedde for single runs in the first two innings.
But this time, the White Sox generated more opportunities and the big hit. Many, many, many of them.
Andrew Benintendi struck the biggest blow. With the game tied at 2 in the fifth, he came to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs after Colson Montgomery failed to come up with a productive out for the second time on the evening. He fell behind 1-2 as deGrom executed three pitches away, but when he tried to bury a slider, he left it at the bottom of the zone and over the heart of the plate, and Benintendi pulled it just inside the right field line for a bases-clearing double that put the Sox ahead 5-2.
The Sox bullpen appeared set to nurse that lead over the final five innings even without insurance, but a five-run ninth allowed Will Venable to back off his high-leverage options and get Trevor Richards back on his games finished habit.
The big finish also temporarily alleviated the sting from losing Kyle Teel, who left the game after a non-contact injury at home plate in the second inning, and all signs point to a prolonged absence.
While Benintendi delivered the defining hit, Sam Antonacci helped facilitate it with a standout night at the top of the order. The White Sox couldn't cash in his leadoff walk in the first, but when he placed a single on the left side of the infield with one out in the third, he ended up coming around to score on Miguel Vargas' two-out double, which atoned for his strikeout in the first.
That narrowed the deficit to 2-1, and after Tristan Peters settled for a double off the top of the right field wall to start the fifth, Antonacci didn't let the two or three missing feet linger. He came to the plate after Chase Meidroth struck out and singled up the middle to score Peters and tie the game at 2. From there, Murakami walked, and Vargas was able to beat out a cross-diamond throw for an infield single that loaded the bases, eventually setting the stage for Benintendi.
That might've been all the Sox needed, as six Chicago pitchers combined for a highly effective line: 9 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 14 K.
Venable bypassed the standard opener for Fedde, and might have regretted it four pitches in, when Joc Pederson pummeled a hanging sweeper over the right field wall for a solo shot and a 1-0 Rangers lead.
That lead expanded to 2-0 when Ezequiel Duran doubled and Evan Carter singled him home the following inning. Braden Montgomery made his best throw home, but Duran slid behind Teel, who appeared to get his spikes stuck as he spun to apply a tag. He stayed on the ground as the trainer came out, and after some attention was paid to his left ankle area, he left the field without putting much weight on that foot.
Credit Fedde for restoring order. He got the team back to the dugout with a flyout and a strikeout, starting a string of eight consecutive hitters retired, including a pair of 1-2-3 innings on just 17 pitches. He'd only thrown 64 total pitches through four and was set to face the bottom of the order in the fifth, but Venable instead chose to go to Chris Murphy to face three lefties over the span of four batters.
The move might've inspired second-guessing had it not panned out, but Murphy retired all four batters he faced, and the Sox bullpen joined him in taking care of business, more or less. Seranthony Domínguez gave up a leadoff solo shot to Jake Burger with his first pitch of the seventh, but at least he didn't issue a leadoff walk, and he set down the next three hitters he faced, with two by strikeout. Sean Newcomb flirted with the most danger, walking Kyle Higashioka with one out and giving up a single to Josh Jung with two down, but he struck out Brandon Nimmo to strand two.
Venable didn't have to worry about the bottom of the ninth. Meidroth started the top of the frame with a walk, and Antonacci bunted him over to second. You might have questioned giving up an out at that point, except it opened first base, and lured Skip Schumaker into intentionally walking Murakami to face Vargas. Vargas took it personally, lining a double to the left field corner to make it a 6-3 game, and the Sox refused to let up. Luisangel Acuña dropped a single over a drawn-in infield for two more runs, Randal Grichuk legged out a triple that scored Acuña, and Braden Montgomery lined a double to left center to get the Sox to double digits for the sixth time this season.
Bullet points:
*Seven games over .500 is a new high-water mark.
*Vargas' two RBIs allowed him to set a career high with 61, and the Sox have yet to play their 100th game.
*Colson Montgomery departed the game after the top of the seventh after bruising his shin with a foul ball. He's day-to-day.
Teel was on crutches postgame. The White Sox will know more tomorrow about the extent of the injury. Colson said the foul ball got his calf, no need for x-rays. Probably won't be in there Tuesday but seems ok.
— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) July 21, 2026
*Braden Montgomery committed a rookie mistake by getting picked off on a full count with runners on the corners and two outs, spoiling an RBI opportunity for Meidroth in the eighth. They made up for it in the ninth.
*The Sox had more hits with runners in scoring position (6-for-16) than the Rangers had at-bats (1-for-5).
