PHOENIX – The first career home run for Sam Antonacci, coming in the ninth inning of an 11-5 victory for the White Sox over the Diamondbacks Tuesday at Chase Field, seemed very fitting for the style of play shown by the rookie outfielder.
Gritty. Never giving up. A little out of the ordinary. And oh yes, of the inside-the-park variety.
“I’m feeling like it kind of exemplifies who I am as a player,” Antonacci said. “It was 8-2 and I feel like a normal player would just cruise in, standing up at second. Just take their double, and I just wanted the extra base. I wasn’t going to say anything. I was just going to take it.”
With Everson Pereira on first and nobody out for the White Sox, Antonacci lined an extra base hit just inside the left-field line against reliever Ryan Thompson. The ball appeared to be touched by a ball person, and on television replay, it clearly was touched, so left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. stopped pursuing the Antonacci hit.
Antonacci never stopped running. By the time Gurriel threw the baseball back in, Antonacci was sliding safely into home. It was the fourth home run of the night for the White Sox and certainly the most memorable.
“Yeah, that was a good first one to have,” manager Will Venable said. “An interesting play. Credit to both those guys for continuing to play, and nice for Sammy to get his first one.”
“I want him to hit a normal home run,” said a smiling Munetaka Murakami, through interpreter Kenzo Yagi, after Murakami homered for a fourth straight game.
Wyatt Langford of Texas had been the last player to record an inside the park homer for his first career homer on April 28, 2024. Kevin Bell had been the last player to do it for the White Sox on June 22, 1976, surprising Antonacci it had ever happened.
“Just knew it was a for sure double,” Antonacci said. “Then, I saw no one was putting their hands up so I just kept running.”
Arizona tried to challenge the play. But since no interference was called on the field, the challenge was not allowed. What was going through Antonacci’s mind as the review process looked to be underway?
Well, nothing much aside from trying to breathe.
“I was a little out of shape on that run,” said a smiling Antonacci, who received the baseball from homer No. 1. “It was cool.”
“That’s sick,” said shortstop Colson Montgomery, who cleared the fence with his home run Tuesday. “That’s unique.”