SAN FRANCISCO — The Chicago White Sox didn’t have a baserunner through three innings Friday night against the San Francisco Giants.
They more than made up for it in the fourth, scoring nine runs in the inning during a 9-4 victory in front of 37,524 at Oracle Park for their ninth win in 12 games.
The Sox (26-24) sent 13 batters to the plate while producing their most runs in an inning since scoring 11 in the second inning against the Cincinnati Reds on May 7, 2023, at Great American Ball Park.
“Just quality at-bats, passing the baton to the next guy,” manager Will Venable said. “You take advantage of opportunities that they give you there with the hit by pitches and then just continue to have good situational at-bats, not try to do too much and pass the baton.”
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Power has been a major source of scoring for the Sox. But they scored the nine runs in the fourth in almost every way except a home run.
“There are lots of ways to get a run in,” first baseman Munetaka Murakami said through an interpreter. “And just one through nine (in the lineup) continuing and contributing, each player contributing to that, it’s a great way to get a run going. We were able to do that today.”
The inning featured three batters getting hit by pitches, including left fielder Sam Antonacci twice.
He led off the fourth by getting hit by a pitch. Giants starter Trevor McDonald also hit the next batter, Murakami. With one out, Colson Montgomery reached on an infield single — snapping an 0-for-15 skid.
Chase Meidroth drew a bases-loaded walk, bringing in Antonacci with the game’s first run. Andrew Benintendi followed with a two-run double, stretching the lead to 3-0.
The Giants brought the infield in, but the Sox pushed across the fourth run on a fielder’s choice. Edgar Quero hit a grounder that second baseman Luis Arraez had to dive after. Arraez fielded the ball, but his throw to the plate was off target as Meidroth scored to make it 4-0.
With two outs, Derek Hill knocked in Benintendi with a single to right for a 5-0 lead.
Antonacci, the 10th batter of the inning, was hit by another pitch after reliever Ryan Borucki entered. It’s the 10th time Antonacci was hit by a pitch. And it was the first time since July 25, 2017, against the Cubs that the Sox had three hit-by-pitches in one inning.
“That’s part of his game, which is rare for guys,” Venable said of Antonacci. “But (it) is something that he stands in there, doesn’t get out of the way sometimes. So credit (to) him for standing in there.”
When informed he was the first Sox player ever to get hit twice in the same inning, according to STATS, Antonacci responded, “Cool.” He couldn’t recall if he had been hit by two pitches in the same inning before at any level.
The second time loaded the bases for Murakami, who drove in three with a double to left field to make it 8-0.
“Really good piece of hitting right there,” Venable said. “To take a slider from a lefty the other way and to hit it with authority like that, a really good piece of hitting. He continues to put himself in a good spot to do damage against quality pitches and a good example right there.”
Miguel Vargas then reached on an infield hit, and a throwing error by shortstop Willy Adames on the play allowed Murakami to score the ninth run. All five Sox hits in the game came during the inning.
Starter Davis Martin made the most of the big lead, improving to 7-1. The right-hander allowed four runs on six hits with seven strikeouts and two walks in 5 2/3 innings. The four runs were a season high for Martin, who has a 2.04 ERA.
“I went up to every single one of them (and) said, ‘Thanks for picking me up on a bad day,'” Martin said. “It’s always good to have a bad day when your offense scores nine.”
Injury note
The Sox were without outfielder Jarred Kelenic, who was scratched from the starting lineup because of a lower back bruise.