KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Chicago White Sox designated hitter Lenyn Sosa took an inside fastball and curveball for balls to begin his fourth inning at-bat Friday against Kansas City Royals starter Noah Cameron.

The next pitch caught Sosa a little off guard.

“He was throwing me inside and he kind of threw me off with the changeup,” Sosa said through an interpreter after the game.

Sosa swung and missed.

Cameron went back inside with the next pitch, a cutter, and Sosa was ready.

He turned on the 90.5-mph pitch and hammered it over the left-field wall at Kauffman Stadium for his team-leading 15th home run of the season.

“It was a good at-bat,” Sosa said.

The homer served as the only run for the Sox in a 3-1 loss.

The production keeps coming for Sosa, who has established career highs across the board offensively this year.

“(He’s putting) good swings on good pitches, making quality decisions,” manager Will Venable said Friday. “Seeing the chase rate go down, he’s putting himself in a good spot. His bat is dangerous on good pitches. He’s done a really nice job.”

Venable on Saturday expanded on what makes Sosa a “dangerous” bat.

“His swing, it feels like he always gets an ‘A’ swing off,” Venable said. “Even when he’s maybe expanding, it’s still just a well-balanced swing where he has the opportunity to do damage. Whether it’s early in the count, late in the count — I saw something on the board last night that he leads the (major leagues) in 0-2 hits (19).

“It’s just a guy that when he’s swinging the bat, he can hit the ball hard and do damage and find some grass out there.”

Sosa entered Saturday having played in a career-high 105 games and topping last year’s previous best totals in runs (40), hits (103), doubles (16), home runs (15) and RBIs (49). His .273 average is also a career-best.

Last season, Sosa had .254 average with 89 hits, 13 doubles, eight home runs and 35 RBIs while scoring 28 runs in 100 games. Sosa, 28, has played parts of four seasons in the majors.

“It means a lot because we’re here to do our best,” Sosa said of establishing the career highs. “We prepare every year to improve and surpass what we did the year before. When you’re able to do that, that means all the work you’ve been putting in your preparation and your routine is paying off. It means a lot.”

He has done it while making starts at second base (77), first (10), DH (eight) and third (two).

Hitting coach Marcus Thames recently noted that the way Sosa has been at the plate “goes back to last year at the end.”

In September, Sosa went 31-for-83 (.373) with four home runs and 13 RBIs in 23 games.

“To me, it has a lot to do with experience,” Sosa said. “You’re getting experience every year, every day. And that has been one of the keys with the mental work I’ve been able to do to be able to enhance my mentality, be stronger mentally. Those two have been the biggest keys.”

It has led to the production, including slashing .287/.317/.498 in 69 games since May 8. That stretch featured a career-high nine-game hitting streak from July 27 to Aug. 6, when he went 14-for-32 (.438).

“I feel very good, very comfortable with a lot of confidence,” Sosa told reporters last week. “All of that is because I’ve been working very hard on getting my timing back. The last couple weeks, I’ve been able to do that.”

Sosa is seeing the work he has put in pay off in the power categories.

“I am not surprised because I’ve been working on my strength and my power for a long time, going to the gym every day, trying to hit the ball out front because that’s where you can produce more power,” he said. “I’m just doing what I know I can do.”

Sosa has two two-home run games this season, June 25 against the Arizona Diamondbacks and July 11 during the second game of a doubleheader against the Cleveland Guardians. Both were at Rate Field.

“The two two-homer games, those are special,” Sosa said. “Especially because there are times where you don’t hit a homer for X period of time. When you can hit two in a game, it’s very special. I’ve been very fortunate enough to have two of those games.”

Asked Friday if he has given any thought to 20 home runs this season, Sosa responded in English: “No, I just try to hit the ball hard.”

Originally Published: August 16, 2025 at 4:14 PM CDT