White Sox Minor Keys: July 28, 2026

NASHVILLE -- For the first time in his second stint attempting to rehabilitate his left calf, Austin Hays played all nine innings while manning a defensive position.

He did more than participate on Tuesday night. At the plate, he hit a three-run homer that pushed the lead safely out of reach in Charlotte's 6-1 victory over the Sounds. Out in left field, he flagged down a drive with a leaping effort on the warning track, then started a relay chain that beat Jeferson Quero back to first base for a 7-4-3 double play that made Jose Urquidy's White Sox organizational debut an easier affair.

But the bigger test comes today, when he sees how his body responds to all the activity.

"This buildup's been a little bit longer, just because the amount of time I've missed," Hays said after batting practice prior to the series opener at First Horizon Park. "We did the five innings, seven innings; this series, I'll be moving into the nine-inning game. So I've got nine innings tonight, make sure I turn around, recover, and then I'll play back-to-back nines."

Hays hasn't played for the White Sox since May 1, as a pair of leg injuries limited him to 12 games to this point. He first went on the injured list after straining his right hamstring trying to close on a ball in left field on April 6. He was reinstated from the injured list three weeks later, only to succumb to the calf strain after three games. He went back on the shelf on May 4, and that's where he's been ever since.

This is the second straight season Hays has suffered separate hamstring and calf injuries, but this time the calf has sidelined him for far longer.

"I guess the thing with the hamstring is when you're walking, you're not really using your hamstrings, and you can jog, and it doesn't really bother you," he explained. "It's just when you go to really push it [that it acts up], so it's easy to not go over that line in the beginning when you're coming back from hammy, because you know where your boundary is.

"But with a calf, you use it the most when you walk. So you do your rehab, it feels good, and then next thing you know, you're out with your wife and your kids, you're taking them to the park, you're just adding more and more workload to the calf on top of it, and you can't really rest it unless you just get off of your feet and sit down. I think that's the hardest thing about the recovery is you'll feel good with it, and that it's just kind of a little tired one day, the next day you wake up, it's a little more tired, and it's more of a slow gradual breakdown, opposed to a hammy as you normally feel it right away, and you're like, 'Oh, I can't do that.' But with the calf, you feel good, and it just kind of slowly wears down on you."

Hays said such a breakdown is what led to aborting his first rehab stint at the end of May, so the ramp-up period has been more cautious this time around. In the meantime, he's keeping tabs on his teammates while hoping his legs will allow him to contribute to a stretch-run push.

"I've made the playoffs three years in a row, with three different teams. I really want to go for my fourth year, with four teams, so I'm really excited to get back," Hays said. "I want to be back up there with those guys, they're doing great. I've gotten to talk to a lot of the guys, I see them on FaceTime, I talk to hitting coaches, so yeah, I'm ready to get back there with the boys.

"But I just want to be smart. I've had my share of injuries this year, and my legs haven't done a very good job of holding up for me, so I need to make sure I'm right before I go back."

Charlotte 6, Nashville 1

• Rikuu Nishida went 3-for-4.
• Austin Hays played the entire game in left, finishing 1-for-5 with a homer and a strikeout.
• Ryan Galanie, 2-for-5 with a homer and a strikeout.
• Junior Perez was 1-for-3 with a double before leaving midgame. He'd stumbled around first on the double, and he finished the circuit, but was later lifted.
• Jose Urquidy's org debut: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 49 of 73 pitches for strikes.
• Hagen Smith: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 11 of 18 pitches for strikes.
• Mason Adams: 3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, 29 of 58 pitches for strikes.

Notes:

*Adams cruised through two before issuing three of his four walks in the ninth inning. He required two mound visits, but he was able to record the three-inning save.

Birmingham 15, Chattanooga 5

• Boston Smith homered, singled, walked twice, struck out once and scored three runs.
• Caleb Bonemer was 2-for-5 with a double and a strikeout.
• Anthony DePino went 1-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout.
• Colby Shelton homered thrice, finishing 3-for-4 with a walk, five RBIs and four runs scored.
• Samuel Zavala went 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout, and stole a base.
• Ryan Burrowes' Double-A debut: 0-for-4 with a strikeout.
• Connor McCullough: 5 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K, 43 of 59 pitches for strikes.
• Mathias LaCombe: 1.1 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 23 of 38 pitches for strikes.

Highlights:

*Shelton raised his Birmingham line from .198/.262/.387 to .208/.273/.434 in one night.

Winston-Salem 10, Brooklyn 6

• Javier Mogollón made his High-A debut, going 1-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts.
• George Wolkow was 1-for-5 with three strikeouts.
• Kyle Lodise went 1-for-2 with three walks, and was caught stealing.
• Jeral Perez went 1-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts.
• Christian Oppor: 0 IP, 0 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, 1 HBP, 4 WP, 2 of 13 pitches for strikes.

DSL White Sox 3, DSL Blue Jays Blue 2 (7 innings)

• Fernando Graterol went 0-for-2 with two walks, a strikeout and a stolen base.
• Carlos Vielma was 2-for-4.
• Sebastian Romero wore the collar and silver sombrero.
• Ronald Cardozo went 1-for-3 with a strikeout.
• Felix Lebron struck out all three trips.

Kannapolis vs. Salem, PPD