The White Sox are about to hit the season’s midpoint in a far better place than they’ve been in years. They’re also far from a finished product.
“We have a lot of things that we’re working on,” manager Will Venable said prior to Friday’s game against the Kansas City Royals. “The things that are important on a daily basis for us, how we are attacking hitters and trying to get count leverage and maintain count leverage throughout games. Offensively, continuing to put ourselves in a position to make good swing decisions and drive the baseball and making plays defensively. Really, all the same stuff we’ve been working on. Now, the focus is a little bit different. We have the All-Star break in a couple weeks here, and really for us now the focus is not let that be a distraction and really focus on the present and what today means.”
The White Sox began the day in a tie with the Cleveland Guardians for the AL Central lead at 41-38 and with a whole different outlook midway through the season.
They were on pace for 84 wins, their highest total since the 2021 AL Central championship team went 93-69. The White Sox finished 81-81 the following year, and is there any need to mention what happened between then and now?
After three straight seasons with 101 losses or more, they are in a far different position. Two years ago, they set a modern major league record for losses when they finished with a 41-121 record.
They equaled their win total from 2024 on Tuesday, when they beat Cleveland 2-1. Last year, they got to 41 on Aug. 1 and reached 42 the following day.
“It’s night and day,” second baseman Chase Meidroth said. “Energy’s a lot higher. The team’s really bought in on each other and wants to play well for each other and has each other’s backs. It’s a special place right now.”
The White Sox have been particularly good at Rate Field, with a 26-13 record going into Friday’s game. Only Tampa Bay (28-12) had a better home record.
Then again, the road has been a problem spot. The Sox are 15-25 in away games, and that’s something that will need to improve.
“I don’t think we’ve played as bad as our record shows on the road,” Meidroth said. “A few opportunities that we miss here and there and it costs us a game, so we’ve got to clean some of those things up.”
The White Sox lost five of six on their recent trip to New York and Detroit, dropping two of three against the Yankees and getting swept by the Tigers. After this weekend, they go to Baltimore for three games and Cleveland for four.
“We’ve got to be better executing in big situations (on the road) and keep going,” Meidroth said. “Playing at home is easy. Our fans show out every single night and bring the energy.”
The Sox had been in first place 14 days entering Friday compared to seven from 2022 to 2025. They’ve shown more pop and won with more flair than just about any other team.
With 110 homers entering Friday’s game, they had more than any other team except the Yankees. Munetaka Murakami and Colson Montgomery were tied for the team lead and sixth in the majors with 20. The Sox were also leading baseball with six pinch-hit home runs, including three by Randal Grichuk — one shy of the club record.
As for winning with flair?
They began the day with 16 one-run wins, tied with Philadelphia for most in the majors. Even in losses, they can make things interesting.
Against Cleveland on Wednesday, Braden Montgomery and Grichuk tied it with back-to-back homers in the ninth. The White Sox lost that game 4-3 when Grant Taylor gave up an RBI single in the 10th, denying Chicago its first sweep of the Guardians in a series of three games or more since 2015. But the White Sox weren’t exactly complaining after taking two of three from Cleveland.
“This team has done it time and time again,” pitcher Erick Fedde said. “Even if we do lose, we make it tough for teams.”