ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The White Sox slugged their way to the team’s largest division lead since the end of the 2021 season, beating the American League-leading Rays 6-1 behind home runs from their Nos. 2-5 hitters in the lineup.
Miguel Vargas crushed a 433-foot solo homer to left field with two outs in the first inning. Andrew Benintendi led off the second with a solo shot. Munetaka Murakami hit a two-run shot in the third, and Colson Montgomery sent a ball 425 feet, off the catwalk above right field, for a two-run shot in the sixth.
“I wish it didn’t [hit the catwalk] because I wanted to see how far it was actually gonna go,” Montgomery said.
According to Elias, Montgomery, Murakami and Vargas homered in the same game for the fifth time this year, tying the MLB (10th time) and franchise records (second time). Joe Crede, Paul Konerko and Jose Valentin were the first Sox trio to accomplish the feat, in 2004. The Dodgers’ Cody Bellinger, Corey Seager and Joc Pederson were the last MLB trio to do so, in 2019.
“That’s real special to have those guys right in the middle of your lineup do that,” manager Will Venable said. “To be able to [hit] a really good pitcher. Take Colson, for example, first couple at-bats, [Nick Martinez] didn’t give him anything to hit at all. And then finally he got something to hit, and it was nice to see him do that.”
It also was nice for Venable to see his taxed bullpen get a break. Erick Fedde threw five innings of one-run ball, Tyler Schweitzer covered three and Trevor Richards finished it off. Sox relievers had thrown 11 innings in the previous two games combined.
Combined with the Guardians’ loss, the Sox (58-51) moved three games ahead in the Central and a season-high-tying seven games over .500.
State of the Sox
Venable held his monthly “State of the Sox” meeting with players this week, in which the team discussed, among other things, the trade deadline, which is at 5 p.m. Monday.
“We had some positive feedback, and really just wanted to be proactive,” Venable said before the Sox’ 6-1 victory Friday against the American League-leading Rays. “We have guys who are going through some of these things that happen during the season for the first time, and they can be a distraction.
“And there’s a non-zero chance that the DNA of our club changes over the next couple of days. We just want to be prepared for that and make sure that it’s not more of a distraction than it needs to be and that we’re focused on the things that we can control and continue to keep ourselves in a good spot down the stretch.”
All was quiet on the Sox’ trade front — whether that’s good or bad is debatable — and players said they are indeed focused on the games at hand. They need to be as they navigate a challenging stretch of 13 games against teams currently holding an AL playoff spot.
In fact, the postseason was another topic of discussion in the meeting. The players know that the Central Division is there for the taking — the Sox entered Friday with a two-game lead over the Guardians — but perhaps the AL will be there for the taking, as well.
“We’re not going to sell ourselves short,” center fielder Tristan Peters told the Sun-Times. “The goal’s the World Series, at least I think it is in every player’s mind here. I don’t know how it is in the front office or with the coaching staff. I know in my mind, our goal is to win the World Series.”
But first things first. The Sox have a trade deadline to endure.
“The first step in the path is really embracing whatever happens at the deadline as a positive thing and getting back to business and moving forward,” Venable said. “[The meeting] wasn’t a motivational message that creates belief that down the road we can be in a good spot. It was a message that, if you want to be in a good spot, the way we respond to this deadline matters.”
Notes
White Sox Charities will hold an online auction Tuesday to help fund recovery efforts in Kumamoto, Japan, Murakami’s hometown, which was struck by a 7.1-magnitude earthquake this week. Fans will be able to bid at whitesox.com/auction.
“I’m donating the gear I use in the game so that it can be auctioned off and given back to the community and to Kumamoto itself,” Murakami said. “Personally, I will do a charity myself. In the upcoming days, I will be able to present that.”
• Right-hander Drew Thorpe (Tommy John surgery) had an impressive rehab outing Thursday for Double-A Birmingham, throwing four innings of one-hit ball with five strikeouts. In fact, since he only threw 43 pitches, Thorpe had to finish his work in the bullpen. He’s scheduled to throw five innings Wednesday for Birmingham before moving up to Triple-A Charlotte.
• Right-hander Jordan Hicks will be the opener Saturday, followed by left-hander Noah Schultz.