Springfield native Sam Antonacci grew up a St. Louis Cardinals fan.
But the White Sox rookie infielder/outfielder’s feelings about the Cubs are pretty similar to any team they are facing that particular evening.
“I dislike every other team,” Antonacci said Friday afternoon. “I want my team to win and put their best foot forward.”
Game 1 photos: Cubs beat White Sox 10-5 in City Series at Rate Field
Antonacci experienced the City Series for the first time Friday, going 0-for-4 with a walk in the 10-5 loss at Rate Field.
The Sox saw their five-game winning streak end. Still, they entered Saturday winners in 11 of their last 16.
“Honestly, (we’re) just relentless,” Antonacci said of the recent success. “We’ve been down, a couple punches thrown at us early in a few games during this stretch and clawed (things) back our way.
“I feel the biggest thing is it’s someone new every night being the guy. It’s never going to be the same person. It’s just finding ways to get your guys one through nine — and on the pitching staff, as well — it’s who can play team baseball better. You can’t really play individually here.”
Antonacci’s contributions include slashing .319/.407/.493 (22-for-69) over his last 23 games.
“Overall, we want Sam Antonacci to play baseball the aggressive way and we will live with an overaggressive mistake here or there,” bench coach Walker McKinven said May 10. “But you do not want to take any of that away from him because it’s different the way he plays.
“Every single opponent notices it. He stands out in a good way. He’s aggressive, he plays harder than anyone, and that’s pretty awesome.”
White Sox left fielder Sam Antonacci slides into third base as he advances from second on a fly ball in the first inning against the Royals on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, at Rate Field. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Antonacci came into Saturday slashing .274/.380/.417 with five doubles, two triples, one home run (which was inside-the-park), nine RBIs and 14 runs in 27 games since being called up from Triple-A Charlotte on April 15. He has found ways to get on base, including getting hit eight times — tied for the third-most in the majors.
He was hit by a pitch on the right leg in Wednesday’s game against the Kansas City Royals, and it had a lingering effect the next night when he legged out a pinch-hit double in the eighth inning.
“Got hit by a pitch the night before, I just didn’t prepare well enough on my end, didn’t really take the proper treatment that I needed to,” Antonacci said. “Just felt it grab a little bit from that bruise. Got here early (Friday) and got with the training staff and did some work on it and did some tests to make sure I’m good to go out there. Appreciative for all their help.”
Antonacci added of the painful way to get on base: “It’s not the most fun, but it’s fun getting on base.”
According to Elias, Antonacci joined the Cubs’ Miguel Amaya in 2023 as the only players in major-league history with eight-plus hit by pitches in their first 25 career games. He showed that knack last year in the minors, getting plunked 35 times.
“That’s part of his game,” manager Will Venable said Friday. “It’s a real skill that he’s got. He gets on base a ton. Some of it is by hit by pitch. He sticks his nose in there and is not backing away. It’s part of who it is.”
Teammates appreciate it all.
“He gets in the box, he’s not afraid to get hit, he’ll wear it, he’ll kind of show emotion and I think it’s something we feed off of,” shortstop Colson Montgomery said Thursday. “Even like (Wednesday), he hits a basic ground ball up the middle and you think it’s a single and he hustles and gets a double and it’s like, all right, now we’re rolling.
“It’s like the little things he can do that can kind of energize the dugout.”
Minor trade
The Sox made a trade before Saturday’s game, acquiring minor-league outfielder Junior Pérez from the Athletics in exchange for minor-league left-hander Jackson Nove.
The Sox optioned Pérez to Charlotte.
Pérez, 24, slashed .210/.273/.384 with five doubles, two triples, five home runs, 19 RBIs and 23 runs in 36 games with Triple-A Las Vegas this season. MLB.com ranked Pérez as the No. 20 prospect in the Athletics system.
“(He plays) above-average defense, some swing-and-miss in his game, had a really good year last year and hasn’t found it at the plate this year,” Venable said Saturday. “A little bit of a higher strikeout rate, but a guy that hits lefties really well, producing different things.
“(He’s) a guy that we can go to work on and help progress at the plate. At his floor, a really good defender that can run the bases, a really good athlete.”
Also before the game, the Sox recalled left-handed pitcher Brandon Eisert from Charlotte and optioned left-hander Tyler Schweitzer to Charlotte.