While the White Sox were scoring 10 runs during the third inning Friday night, one of their former sluggers was marking his own milestone.
Ron Kittle was married to his now-wife, Barbara, in a ceremony officiated by Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf in his suite. Former teammates Harold Baines and Greg Walker and their spouses were there, too.
‘‘He’s so superstitious, [Reinsdorf] might marry somebody today in the bottom of the third,’’ Kittle quipped before the Sox’ game Saturday against the Royals.
Weddings at the ballpark are nothing new to Kittle. Between innings of a game last August against the Guardians, Kittle officiated a 60-second ceremony during a night to honor former owner Bill Veeck.
‘‘Now I’m the only player to marry someone at the park and get married at the park,’’ Kittle said.
Kittle and many of his old colleagues were at Rate Field on Saturday for a reunion of the 1983 American League West champions. They were introduced before the game, and the cohort included manager Tony La Russa. Right-hander Richard Dotson threw out the ceremonial first pitch.
As for the 2026 team, Kittle said he likes this group more than its recent predecessors.
‘‘Some of these guys get out of their car in the parking lot and are already dirty,’’ Kittle said. ‘‘They stop balls; they dive. They don’t put their head down when they make a mistake. They got rid of a couple of guys who never hustled, which I was so happy about.’’
Schultz soon?
As expected, the Sox optioned right-hander David Sandlin to Triple-A Charlotte. That leaves an open spot in the Sox’ rotation, and it might be filled by left-hander Noah Schultz.
Schultz, who has been on the injured list since May 26 with patellar tendinitis in his right knee, struck out seven in 4 2/3 innings in a rehab start Friday for Charlotte. Schultz, the Sox’ first-round pick in 2022, threw 52 strikes in 74 pitches.
Manager Will Venable didn’t commit to Schultz (2-4, 5.82 ERA in eight starts) rejoining the rotation the next turn through, but he didn’t rule it out.
‘‘Noah’s lined up; he’s certainly going to be an option there,’’ Venable said. ‘‘We haven’t made any decisions yet. But he’s lined up and will be under consideration, for sure.’’
To take Sandlin’s place on the roster for now, the Sox recalled left-hander Tyler Schweitzer from Charlotte.
There for them
There’s only so much Venable and the Sox can do to ease the minds of Venezuelan players Luisangel Acuna and Everson Pereira in the wake of the country’s earthquakes. The tragedy has killed more than 1,400 people and injured scores more.
One thing Venable is doing is talking with them to make sure they’re OK.
‘‘It’s a terrible situation,’’ Venable said. ‘‘It’s awful and obviously very devastating. Those two guys and a number of guys that we know are potentially impacted by that, so just checking in on your people.’’
Pereira update
Pereira was put on the seven-day concussion IL on June 18 but has not resumed baseball activities. He was hurt June 17, when he crashed into the outfield wall at Yankee Stadium while making a catch on a fly ball by Ben Rice.