CHICAGO – The 2025 White Sox went to the All-Star break with a 32-65 record, and they sat 27 games out of first place in the American League Central.
Not ideal, not really even in a rebuild, especially coming off 121 losses in 2024.
With a 9-1 victory over the Athletics on Sunday afternoon, completing a weekend sweep on a beautiful day for baseball at Rate Field, the White Sox hit this respite at 50-45 and atop the division.
Is “What a difference a season makes” anywhere near enough to encapsulate this turnaround? No, not really close.
But with 67 games remaining and the post All-Star break playoff push on the horizon, the White Sox now expect to be in the postseason picture.
“Yeah, I think so,” said White Sox shortstop Colson Montgomery, who has a team-best 23 home runs. “In our heads, we just are like, ‘How are we not going to be a playoff team if we just play like we are playing right now?’”
“We've had pretty high expectations and standards for all these guys, and they've met them mostly and done a great job,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “So we just keep trying to get better. You know, that's the focus for us.”
Better turned into best against the A’s (41-55), who took their first lead in a game since July 1 on Shea Langeliers’ first-inning homer off Noah Schultz but had it erased by a six-run White Sox first inning. Sam Antonacci launched his third leadoff homer and then was hit by a pitch for the 18th time later in the game, while Braden Montgomery connected on a three-run blast and drove in four.
Schultz (3-6) won for the first time since May 1 at San Diego, ending a stretch of six winless starts with five losses. He fanned four and didn’t issue a walk over five innings and 74 pitches (53 strikes) before giving way to the bullpen.
Although the White Sox have yet to release their second-half pitching rotation, Schultz becomes an important component for this young team’s playoff outlook.