Inside-the-park homer feels right as career-first for White Sox rookie grinder Sam Antonacci

PHOENIX — White Sox utility player Sam Antonacci can hit the ball over the fence. He hit seven home runs in the minor leagues and one in the World Baseball Classic for Team Italy.

But it just feels right that Antonacci’s first major-league four-bagger was of the inside-the-park variety.

‘‘No one was putting their hands up, so I just kept running,’’ Antonacci, 23, said Tuesday after becoming the first Sox player to have to leg out his first career homer since Kevin Bell in 1976. ‘‘[It] kind of exemplifies who I am as a player. . . .

‘‘I feel like a normal player would just cruise in, standing up at second. [I] just wanted the extra base. I wasn’t going to say anything; I was just going to take it.’’

And take it he did after Diamondbacks left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. took it for granted that the play was dead after a field attendant touched Antonacci’s grounder down the line. Umpires didn’t stop the play, however. And although replay clearly showed interference, they ruled it wasn’t reviewable.

Antonacci didn’t sweat it out while the umps conferred on the controversial play, but he was gasping for air.

‘‘I was honestly catching my breath,’’ he said, laughing. ‘‘I was a little out of shape on that run.’’

He came closer to a garden-variety inaugural homer earlier in the game, crushing a 408-foot drive that caromed off the wall in right-center field. He settled for his first career triple on a three-RBI night that followed a tough first week at the plate (2-for-16) since his call-up April 15.

‘‘A little bit of a slow start, but I like where I’ve been at and the at-bats I’ve been taking,’’ Antonacci said.

Infielder Colson Montgomery, who hit one of the Sox’ three other homers in the series-opening victory, said he gladly would’ve taken an inside-the-parker over the one he lined around the right-field foul pole for his first homer last July in Tampa, Florida.

‘‘That’s sick,’’ he said. ‘‘That’s unique.’’

But color power-hitting first baseman Munetaka Murakami unimpressed with Antonacci’s first dinger.

‘‘I want him to hit a normal home run,’’ he joked.

Mune’s no slug

Murakami hustled out a pair of infield singles Tuesday, the first on a 100 mph rocket that got stuck in third baseman Nolan Arenado’s glove and the second on a screaming grounder to shortstop Geraldo Perdomo, whose throw couldn’t beat him to first.

‘‘I think [manager] Will [Venable] thinks I’m a bit slow on the feet, so I’m just going to try to tell him that I can kind of run fast,’’ said Murakami, who’s pushing Venable for a green light to attempt his first career steal.

‘‘We saw his speed down the line today, which was cool; he runs hard,” Venable said. ‘‘He’s really filling out his game. It’s more than just the slug, as we’re seeing, and the slug is impressive, as well.’’

Burke back on the board

Right-hander Sean Burke’s six serviceable innings Tuesday earned him his first victory in 10 months. He had gone 16 appearances (11 starts) since his last one, which also was against the D-backs on June 25, 2025.

‘‘I didn’t know,’’ said Burke, who’s 1-2 with a 4.10 ERA in 26⅓ innings spanning five outings this season. ‘‘That’s too long. Can’t let that happen again.’’