TAMPA, Fla. — Chicago White Sox infielder Miguel Vargas homered in consecutive games on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Pirates and Monday against the Tampa Bay Rays.
But a third-inning walk Monday also stood out to manager Will Venable.
Vargas faced Rays starter Shane Baz with two on and no outs. He took a low knuckle curve for a ball and a cutter on the outside corner for a strike. Vargas took another low knuckle curve for a ball and a four-seam fastball that again nipped the corner for a strike.
Vargas laid off a cutter in the dirt, running the count full. He then fouled off a 97.8 mph high fastball. Baz went back to the knuckle curve, and Vargas didn’t bite, taking the pitch just off the corner of the plate for ball four.
“It wasn’t a hit, but it was the commitment to being on time, being ready, fouled off some tough pitches and took some tough pitches and put himself in a really good spot to keep the line moving,” Venable said on Tuesday.
Luis Robert Jr. came through with a two-run single later in the inning. Vargas then scored on a fielder’s choice, part of a three-run inning in the 8-3 win at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
“I felt like (Vargas’ at-bat) was a really good example of the quality we’ve been getting in between these at-bats where we are slugging a little bit more,” Venable said.
The Sox had a historic spurt after returning to action, becoming the first team in major-league history to win each of their first four games out of All-Star break by five-plus runs.
Chicago White Sox’s Luis Robert Jr. watches his two-run single during the third inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Monday, July 21, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)
They scored 35 runs in the four-game span, their most since scoring 38 from Sept. 7-10, 2022, against the Seattle Mariners (Sept. 7) and Oakland Athletics. The 35 runs were tied for the second-most coming out of the break in team history, two shy of the franchise record of 37 by the 1977 club.
The Sox scored at least seven runs in each of the four contests, their longest stretch of scoring seven-plus runs since accomplishing the feat in five consecutive games from June 27-July 2, 2021.
The streak ended with Tuesday’s 4-3 loss to the Rays. But along the way, Venable saw traits he hopes will be transferrable going forward for the team.
“I think just the commitment to the mentality,” Venable said. “I think as a group, we’re finding different ways to get to what we’ve been talking about all year — and that’s the fastball performance. It’s taken some time here, but I think that’s part of this and just trying to figure out our group and what makes them tick and how to get the best out of them.
“A lot of that is them figuring it out amongst themselves and holding themselves accountable and collectively finding an approach that works for our group. Obviously they’ve been doing that.”
The Sox came out swinging immediately after the break, clobbering the Pirates 10-1 on Friday at PNC Park. Edgar Quero and Robert homered as part of an 11-hit attack.
They collected 13 hits the next night in a 10-4 victory. It was the first time the Sox had scored at least 10 runs in back-to-back games since Aug. 26-27, 2021, (against the Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago Cubs), the first time against the same opponent since April 24-25, 2017, against the Kansas City Royals and the first time on the road since June 18-19, 2004, at Montreal.
Vargas hit a three-run home run in the first inning, and was followed by a Mike Tauchman home run that reached the Allegheny River during Sunday’s 7-2 win. The Sox had 10 more hits in that game, earning their first series sweep of the season.
Brooks Baldwin and Vargas homered in Monday’s 8-3 victory against the Rays.
“One through nine we had really good, quality at-bats the entire day,” said infielder Chase Meidroth, who had four — three doubles — of the team’s 11 hits.
While the offensive numbers were impressive, starters and relievers made big pitches during the stretch to keep the momentum on the Sox side.
It was a stretch the entire team could use to illustrate contributions.
“I just think everybody is locked into their roles, and everybody is just really playing team baseball,” infielder Colson Montgomery said on Tuesday. “I don’t think we’re really seeing any selfishness or anything like that, and I think that just comes from how our guys operate. We want to win. And once we came out of the break and got those good wins in Pittsburgh, it kind of gave us a little bit of what we can do and kind of showed what we can do.
“We’re a really good offensive team, and same thing with our pitching — all around, I think we’ve done a really good job.”
Sox sign entire 2025 draft class
The Sox signed all 20 of their 2025 MLB draft picks, the team announced on Wednesday.
Financial terms were not disclosed, but MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis reported signing bonuses for several of the players — including first-round pick shortstop Billy Carlson ($6,235,900), second-round selection and Nazareth product outfielder Jaden Fauske ($2,997,500), third-round shortstop Kyle Lodise ($925,000) and fourth-round catcher Landon Hodge ($1,097,500).
The Sox selected Carlson with the No. 10 pick. MLB.com ranks the 18-year-old as the No. 7 overall prospect in the draft class. Carlson had a .365/.517/.647 slash line with four doubles, six home runs, 34 RBIs, 33 runs and a 1.164 OPS in 31 games with Corona (Calif.) High School this season.
The Sox also announced the signings of three undrafted free agents in left-handed pitcher Jackson Nove (University of Kentucky), outfielder James Taussig (University of Texas at San Antonio) and catcher Steven Lancia (University of Texas Rio Grande Valley).
Originally Published: July 23, 2025 at 9:52 AM CDT