The White Sox entered the All-Star break Sunday tied for first place in the American League Central. That’s a sentence that crossed exactly no one’s mind in spring training.
Even in April. Remember that season-opening trip through Milwaukee and Miami? The Sox went 1-5 and were outscored 52-21. After sweeping the AL champion Blue Jays at home, the Sox won two of their next 10 games and fell to 6-13.
“It was really tough,” Sox manager Will Venable said. “We just didn’t feel stable.”
But since a victory April 17 against the Athletics, the Sox are 44-32, the second-best record in the league in that span. They finished their pre-break schedule with a sweep of the A’s, capped by a 9-1 victory at Rate Field.
“We just settled in,” Venable said of how the team turned it around. “If you’re going to survive in this league, you have to deal with adversity. I thought we did a good job of really staying the course there in the early going. To find our way means a lot.”
The Sox are 50-45 one year after being 32-65 at the break. After outscoring the A’s 24-2, the Sox plus-35 run differential is second in the AL. And outside of a blip against the Red Sox, the White Sox have been great at home, going 31-17, including 27-9 in their last 36.
But Venable isn’t looking at the numbers so much as the work his team has done to make this turnaround possible.
“As far as wins and losses, we’ve stayed away from having calculated expectations on where we might be in the first half,” he said. “But we very clearly outlined the things that we did have expectations for and how we go about our business on the field, the things that we’re doing in the weight room, in the training room.
“So as far as the things internally that we set expectations for, I feel really good about the group’s ability to execute those things. We haven’t been perfect, and we’re trying to always be better, but they’ve done a really good job so far.”
The Sox have done it at the plate with the long ball, ranking fourth in the majors with 129 homers, including two in the first inning Sunday. Sam Antonacci erased a 1-0 deficit with a leadoff shot, and Braden Montgomery added a three-run blast to cap a six-run outburst.
Both rookies, neither of whom was on the Opening Day roster, have helped the Sox reverse their fortunes. But the bulk of that help has come from power hitters Colson Montgomery (23 homers), Miguel Vargas (21) and Munetaka Murakami (20). They’re the second trio of Sox teammates to hit 20-plus homers before the break, joining Jim Thome (30), Jermaine Dye (25) and Paul Konerko (21) in 2006.
On the mound, the Sox have — for the most part — successfully pieced together a bullpen that has had to shift from an initial plan of closing with big-money free agent Seranthony Dominguez to closing with, well, anyone. Seven other relievers have saves for a unit that has proved to be versatile, with six relievers starting and finishing games as Venable searches for the best spots and matchups for his pitchers.
The starters are doing their part, but they might need a boost after the break. On Sunday, Noah Schultz had the best of his three starts since returning from the injured list, allowing one run, four hits and no walks in five innings. The rookie lefty had been the weak link of the rotation.
“We just keep trying to get better,” Venable said. “That’s the focus for us. We do have a lot of young guys. We have a lot of guys who are still learning every day. I’m learning every day. I think we’re all excited to do it together. That’s what it’s going to be about down the stretch.
“We’re getting contributions everywhere. [Now] these guys recover and recharge a little bit and get ready for the second half.”