White Sox stage fierce rally in nightcap but fall short

CHICAGO -- The calendar read June 19 for Games No. 74 and 75 to be played by the White Sox against the Cardinals at Rate Field Thursday.

But there were a number of firsts, both individually and team-wise, involving the South Siders.

Let’s start with the first doubleheader of the 2025 season played by the White Sox, after Wednesday’s game was postponed, leading to the first time they’ve been swept in a doubleheader. The Cardinals claimed a 5-4 victory in the opener and held on for an 8-6 victory in 10 innings during the nightcap, giving the White Sox (23-52) eight straight losses overall.

St. Louis (40-35) held a 6-1 lead after six innings in Game 2, only to have the White Sox claw back for five in the seventh to eventually force extra innings. Andrew Benintendi punctuated the rally with a first-pitch grand slam off reliever Kyle Leahy, marking his third career slam and what else but the team’s first of the campaign.

“Two outs, Chase [Meidroth] drew a four-pitch walk,” Benintendi said. “I was just looking for something elevated in the zone and something to hit hard and he hung a slider.”

"We've seen it time and time again from this group where they continue to fight,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “Between the bullpen holding those guys right there and those quality at-bats leading up to the Benny grand slam, which obviously was a big knock, just a great job on a tough day for our guys.”

With Mike Tauchman on third and one out in the ninth of a 6-6 deadlock, the White Sox were in position to walk it off until Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado threw out Tauchman at the plate on Vinny Capra’s grounder. The hard-nosed Tauchman slowed down before Arenado even threw the ball, with Venable pointing to right groin soreness leaving him day to day and to be evaluated.

That latest injury to Tauchman, and numerous pinch-hitting opportunities in the latter innings, left the White Sox moving Austin Slater from left field to right field and Kyle Teel entering the game in left field for the 10th. The rookie catcher made his first appearance in the outfield in the big leagues but not his first ever.

“It’s like riding a bike,” Teel said. “Played outfield in college. Played for the collegiate national team in left and right field. Shag [fly balls] out there all the time, so I was just hoping they would hit me the ball. I take pride in my athleticism and wherever the team needs me at any point, I’m willing to go.”

"Not unless we're in extra innings and an outfielder goes down and he's on the bench,” Venable said of Teel in the outfield. “That was a pure emergency. No thought to make that a thing."

Ryan Noda homered for his first hit as a member of the White Sox in Game 2, while also drawing a two-out walk in the 10th to bring Austin Slater to the plate as the winning run. Andrew Granillo struck out Slater to earn the save, after picking up the victory in Game 1.

Luis Robert Jr. added the first sacrifice bunt of his career during the opener, a game which the White Sox held a 4-2 lead into the eighth before the Cardinals rallied for three. This first-timer list can even extend to Charlotte, where Noah Schultz, the No. 1 White Sox prospect and No. 1 left-handed pitching prospect in the game, per MLB Pipeline, made his first start at the Triple-A level.

Schultz, 21, struck out five over 5 1/3 innings, recording 16 swings and misses and topping out at 97.7 mph, per Statcast, but he also allowed six runs on eight hits. It was that sort of day for the White Sox.

Losing close decisions represented nothing new for the White Sox, who fell to 4-20 in games decided by one run and 3-11 in games decided by two runs. The White Sox consistently battle to keep things winnable but don’t consistently finish off victories.

"I don't think we're far off in these games,” said White Sox starter Sean Burke, who struck out seven over 5 1/3 innings in a Game 1 no-decision. “I don't think it's any one part that you kind of point out and say, ‘This is the reason why we're losing these games.’ There's a bunch of things we can do better as a team like top to bottom.”

“Things aren’t going our way right now, but what’s most important is that we keep working and we fight,” Teel said. “This team has a lot of fight. We just need to pay attention to the details of this game and keep fighting.”