A 4-2 loss to the Pirates went from frustrating to feisty for the White Sox at the close of the seventh inning Wednesday night at Rate Field.
Benches cleared after Miguel Vargas grounded into an inning-ending double play, with the action around second, where Antonacci’s left elbow contacted Pirates infielder Brandon Lowe as he popped up from a hard slide into the bag. The two briefly exchanged words, but the Pirates veteran walked back to his dugout afterward.
“Completely legal play,” said Antonacci, who described the elbow as incidental but made clear his intent was to break up the double play. “I’m happy enough to have a conversation, but you can’t walk away. He’s a grown man.”
“I just didn’t like the slide,” Lowe told reporters postgame, expressing surprise that it led to benches and dugouts clearing. “Bad slide the first night, bad slide tonight and just kind of tired of it.”
Antonacci confirmed an exchange about an earlier slide in Tuesday’s series opener. After he raised eyebrows in Boston last month for a glancing elbow to Willson Contreras as he ran up the first base line, and his established willingness to go to extremes to break up a double play, the league has taken notice.
Sam Antonacci stood by his slide during postgame, to say the least pic.twitter.com/6kneX1sJfQ
— James Fegan (@JRFegan) September 10, 2026
“Nowadays in this game, this age, I think a lot of people are used to just letting up on that play,” said Antonacci. “People would label me as maybe a dirty player, but I know that I have no dirty intentions behind it. If people want to be mad for me hustling or outplaying them, that’s fine.”
The fracas broke up without any blows exchanged, and a Trevor Richards two-strike slider slipping to hit Pirates outfielder Billy Cook in the back the next inning wasn’t read as retaliation. Ironically, Antonacci had been presented with the White Sox’ Heart & Hustle award prior to the game.
“I don’t really know what it is,” Antonacci said, glancing at the bag containing it by his locker. “You don’t really get wins or losses by it.”
A coach’s son, people close to Antonacci playing style–and history of irking opponents–dates back to high school, if not earlier. The Sox have repeatedly praised his approach to the game, which regularly provides moments requiring comment.
“We knew what we were getting,” said starter Davis Martin. “It’s the grit, it’s the hustle, that’s the kind of guy you want in your dugout.”
However, Antonacci had to concede one point to the Pirates.
“All that being said, they won the game.”
Roster move
Rookie right-hander Tyler Davis was placed on family medical emergency/bereavement leave on Wednesday, while left-hander Chris Murphy was recalled.
Pham timeline
Athletes are usually bullish on their recovery timelines, but there’s at least one person who thinks Tommy Pham should be activated from his left calf strain by Sunday.
“If you talk to Tommy, as soon as he’s eligible to come back he’s going to be ready to go,” said manager Venable. “We’ll see how he continues to progress over the next couple of days.”
AFL-bound
When No. 2 Sox prospect Caleb Bonemer reports to Glendale for the Arizona Fall League in October, he’ll have Double-A Birmingham teammates with him. Infielders Anthony DePino, Colby Shelton and catcher Grant Magill will be the other Sox positional representatives.
After getting shut down for the season with right wrist soreness, top prospect Roch Cholowsky will prepare for next spring.