NEW YORK -- Entering Wednesday afternoon’s action, the White Sox were one of the worst offensive teams in the Major Leagues. They were last in the American League in batting average (.220), slugging percentage (.341) and runs created (192).
Manager Will Venable simply wanted to see his team be more aggressive at the plate and put the ball in play. It happened throughout Wednesday’s game at Citi Field as the White Sox pounded the Mets, 9-4, and salvaged the three-game series.
“The Mets are a team that has World Series aspirations. We played them tight in all three games,” White Sox outfielder Mike Tauchman said. “I thought we had chances to win all three games. So getting that win today feels good on a getaway day. We just consistently put pressure on them.”
Chicago scored early and often against New York right-hander Griffin Canning. It started in the first inning, when Andrew Benintendi singled to left center field, scoring Tauchman and Miguel Vargas.
The White Sox took advantage of back-to-back errors by third baseman Brett Baty and second baseman Jeff McNeil to start the following frame. Tauchman doubled down the right-field line, scoring Korey Lee and Josh Rojas, who had reached base on the miscues.
The next inning saw Lenyn Sosa double then score the fifth run of the game on a groundout by Rojas.
With right-hander Shane Smith on the mound for Chicago, New York was back in the game in the third when Mark Vientos hit a three-run homer.
It was all White Sox after that. By the sixth inning, Mets left-hander Brandon Waddell took one for the team, going five innings and allowing four runs. Benintendi, just five days after returning from the injured list, highlighted the scoring with a solo home run in the top of the eighth inning. He ended up going 3-for-5 with four RBIs.
“It was good to get a lead early and just keep scoring throughout the game,” Benintendi said. “There have been times where we scored early and kind of left it at that. So to keep the pressure on, especially [against] a team like [the Mets], it was nice to see.”
The White Sox are hoping that Wednesday is a sign Benintendi will be productive for the rest of the season. He is in year three of a five-year, $75 million contract, and he will be the first to tell you that he has been a disappointment in the batter’s box. But the 30-year-old feels he may have found the stroke that made him a productive player with the Royals in 2021 and an All-Star in ‘22.
“I’m up there trying to figure it out -- swinging at bad pitches, chasing a little more than I like to,” he said. “But I’m not panicking. I’m trying to get up there and see the ball, hit the ball. Obviously, results are nice to have, but there is a feel I found in my first at-bat against Waddell. It kind of [took] me back to 2021. So I’ll try to hold on to that thought as long as I can. But in the end, I just try to hit the ball hard and be more consistent.”
Despite the losing record -- 18-38 -- there is a positive vibe in the clubhouse. The White Sox feel they are in almost every game. The days of thinking they are going to lose every game are over.
“These guys come to the ballpark every day happy and excited to play baseball and expecting to win,” Venable said. “That’s what we want and that’s what every team tries to create. Regardless of the result the day before, these guys turn the page, come to the field excited to play.”