NEW YORK — The good thing about morphing from a rebuilding team to a contender is the games carry much more meaning.
Every game the Chicago White Sox play for the foreseeable future will have a bearing on their newfound status as American League Central or wild-card contender, unlike the last three seasons when they were basically playing out the string by mid-June.
It brought increased scrutiny from media and fans, who won’t be looking for incremental improvements as long as the Sox remain in contention.
But that also means some of the losses can be harder to digest, especially when you’re giving up double-digit runs, as White Sox pitchers did in the first two games of the three-game series against the New York Yankees, losing 12-2 and 10-5.
As fun a ride as it has been for the first 2½ months, it can all go sour in a hurry without consistent pitching. Nothing is guaranteed, and nothing will be given to them.
The Sox rebounded from those two drubbings Thursday with a 5-1 win over the Yankees, fueled by Andrew Benintendi’s pinch-hit grand slam in the eighth inning.
Sean Burke pitched 7 1/3 innings as the bulk pitcher, tied for the longest of his career, allowing one home run and striking out eight in his best outing of the season.
“I grew up a Red Sox fan, so this one is for my boys in Boston,” he said with a laugh.
Colson Montgomery hit his third homer in two games and 20th of the season, sending the Sox to Detroit on a high note.
Will Venable, who suffered through 102 losses last year and finished 28 games out of first in his debut season as manager, began the day percentage points ahead of the Cleveland Guardians, who beat the Milwaukee Brewers earlier in the afternoon. He denied that losing games in 2026 was harder to take than in ’25.
“Every loss is hard for its own reason,” he said, before repeating his mantra about learning and growing from every loss.
“Losing sucks,” he continued. “But it always sucks, and we’re going to make sure that we do everything to extract value out of these losses.”
So it’s no different than when the Sox were still in the development phase?
“No,” he repeated. “Losing sucks.”
That has been well established over the centuries in every sport, and losing games by a wide margin is equally detested. But Venable made his argument, and that’s fine.
But listening to Sox fans who’ve begun to believe this team has turned the corner, I can attest not everyone thinks these recent losses compare to the losses when the Sox were hopelessly out of contention. Expectations grow, and fans don’t want to see any regression.
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Thursday’s rally started with a Sam Antonacci double in the eighth and Tim Hill hitting two Sox hitters to load the bases. Camilo Doval replaced Hill, and Benintendi cranked his ninth home run on the first pitch to send the Sox dugout into party mode.
Benintendi was told by announcer Len Kasper before the game that the wind was a gale blowing out, which was perfect for his moment.
“I heard about it, we didn’t hit BP today, but we heard gusts of up to 30-40 miles an hour,” Benintendi said. “It seemed like early in the game there were some fly balls that were giving guys fits, so yeah, the ball was jumping tonight.”
Benintendi has been platooned mostly in ’26, but said it isn’t tough to deal with at his age. Referring to the youth movement, he said “this is their team now,” and he’s willing to do whatever is asked of him.
“I understand kind of my role now, throughout the year,” he said. “Last year too, you kind of see things and know the trends as you get older. So I’m just glad to be a part of it and contribute.”
Venable started reliever Bryan Hudson for Burke on Thursday, the 14th time he has gone with an opener this season. He said no decision has been made on the open fifth-starter slot that will have to be filled Saturday in Detroit, barring a bullpen day.
While the pitching depth has been exposed somewhat since the start of June, the Sox added a minor-league outfield prospect Thursday, calling up Junior Pérez to take the place of Everson Pereira, who was placed on the seven-day injured list with a concussion.
Pérez is the 13th Sox player to make his major-league debut this season, tying the 1944 Cincinnati Reds for most debuts before the All-Star break. The ’44 Reds had the excuse of World War II going on. Sox general manager Chris Getz is simply giving more opportunities to his prospects after recently giving Rikuu Nishida a brief taste of the majors.
Venable said the call-up of Pérez, a defensive-minded outfielder with speed, “speaks a lot to Getzie’s plan” and the job done by the player development staff. Venable immediately inserted Pérez into the starting lineup — he played left field and batted eighth against Yankees left-hander Ryan Weathers, going hitless in two at-bats but throwing out Anthony Volpe at third with the game tied 1-1 in the seventh when Volpe tried to stretch a double.
“Great play, a tough play up against the wall he wasn’t able to make, but did a good job getting to that ball with urgency and made a great throw,” Venable said.
Pérez, who turns 25 on the Fourth of July, said before the game that he was not nervous.
“Not too much,” he said. “I play (against major-leaguers) in the Dominican Winter Ball. I’m here now, and it’s like the real major leagues.”
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It is the real major leagues for sure, and the Sox were happy to give another kid an opportunity after a long, hard climb from the minors.
It all happened after Pereira crashed hard into the left-field wall at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night and was diagnosed with a concussion.
How would Pérez describe himself as a player?
“I play with a lot of charisma,” he said.
Pérez began his pro career as a 16-year-old in the San Diego Padres system before being traded to the A’s and the White Sox organizations. The Sox acquired him on May 16 for lefty Jackson Nove, and Pérez hit .230 with a .758 OPS at Triple-A Charlotte. Pérez has a .228 average and 90 home runs over eight minor-league seasons.
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Upon hearing the good news, Pérez called his dad in the Dominican Republic late Wednesday to tell him he had been promoted to the majors.
“I said, ‘Hey, Pa, I’m going to the big leagues,'” Pérez said of the call. “He said, ‘I’m sleeping now. Give me two minutes. Are you sure?’
“I said, ‘Yeah, I’m positive.'”
Sometimes a dream begins when your dad is dreaming, then wakes up and learns that your dream has become reality.
The Sox are hoping this dream season they’ve been living continues into October.
“This group has been unbelievable and we have a lot ot fun, and whether we won or lost the night before we know we have to show up and play for that win,” Benintendi said.
It’s a season no one expected.
But now that it’s here, try to enjoy the ride.