We are now in the second half of May, and the White Sox are two games better than .500. No, you did not read that wrong. No, you are not dreaming. This is real life.
The South Siders have been on a journey to .500 the last few weeks, and they finally accomplished the goal on Wednesday. This is the first time since 2022 that they have been even this late in the season.
But why stop there? The White Sox had the same thought, and with a complete of the sweep on Thursday of the Kansas City Royals took
their winning percentage past .500.
Which brings us to the weekend and the Crosstown Classic, where there were not high expectations for this young core. Instead, the Good Guys came out of the weekend with a series win against a North Side team that has already strung together two 10-game winning streaks and are atop the NL Central. Wherever the expectations for the season may have been, this was a tone-setter: The 2026 White Sox can compete.
How are they competing? Stellar defense. Solid pitching. A lot of home runs. This week alone, 11 different White Sox hit a total of 15 long balls:
#1 Drew Romo hit his fourth homer of the season in the bottom of the fifth inning during the Kansas City opener on Tuesday.
#2 Chase Meidroth gave the White Sox a 5-2 lead with a three-run homer also in the bottom of the fifth inning on Tuesday.
#3 Derek Hill hit a go-ahead home run in the bottom of the eighth inning of Tuesday’s series opener against the Royals. This lifted the White Sox to a 6-5 win.
#4 Colson Montgomery ripped a ball to right field in the bottom of the seventh in Wednesday’s game. His solo shot was the winning RBI in another 6-5 win.
#5 Randal Grichuk got the party going in the bottom of the first inning on Thursday with a two-run shot. Four more runs scored during the White Sox’s path to a 6-2 victory, but none were as fun as a home run.
#6 Montgomery tied the opener of the Crosstown Classic at one with a solo dinger in the bottom of the second inning.
#7 Miguel Vargas tied the game on Friday again with a solo home run to right field to make it 4-4.
#8 Jarred Kelenic felt left out of the long-ball fun and hit an inconsequential home run in the bottom of the ninth inning of Friday’s loss to the Cubs. Instead of losing by six, the Pale Hose lost by a nickel.
#9 Vargas got the scoring going on Saturday with a 421-foot, three-run bomb to left-center field.
#10 Munetaka Murakami broke his week-long home run drought with a solo shot just over the glove of Pete Crow-Armstrong to put the Good Guys up, 4-0, on Saturday.
#11 Montgomery launched an absolute missile off the Stadium Club windows. His 13th home run of the season was a solo shot that traveled 442 feet.
#12 Murakami recorded his first multihomer game in the majors. His second dinger on Saturday came off the bat at 109 mph and scored Sam Antonacci to make it 7-0.
#13 Andrew Benintendi added to the White Sox lead in the bottom of the sixth inning on Sunday with a solo shot.
#14 Tristan Peters hit his first career home run in the bottom of the eighth inning in yesterday’s series finale against the Cubs. It broke the 4-4 tie and put the South Siders in a position to win the ballgame and the series.
#15 Edgar Quero hit a walk-off two-run dinger to end the Crosstown Classic with a bang.
It is not just Murakami who has power. The whole team is showing up for the big moments on offense. Also showing up on defense are these three outfielders, and their highlight-reel catches:
If you have made it past all of the videos, you now get to read about the not-so-great pitching performances of the week.
First and foremost, Davis Martin can do no wrong. He started Saturday’s game after the bullpen imploded on Friday night and absolutely shut down the Cubs offense. The ace went six innings, giving up just one earned run, walking no one, and striking out seven. His 1.61 ERA ranks him third in MLB just behind Tampa’s Nick Martinez (1.51) and Cam Schlittler (1.35) of the Yankees.
Overall, the pitching staff did not perform this week. They had a team ERA of 5.07, recorded six wild pitches, averaged just shy of 4.5 BB/9, and gave up seven home runs. In total, there were five save opportunities presented to White Sox pitchers this week, and only three of those were converted to saves.
There are going to be weeks when you do not hit 15 home runs over six games. Those are the weeks that pitching is going to have to come through. If Zach Bove and his pitching staff cannot get themselves under control (beyond Martin), the upcoming West Coast trip against Seattle and San Francisco is going to be a lot less fun than this nine-game homestand was.
For now, we will bask in the glory that is beating the Chicago Cubs.
