CHICAGO – An important piece of information was discovered during the White Sox interview session following their 6-1 victory over the Mariners Saturday night at Rate Field.
And here it is: Lions actually bark.
How in the name of a line drive to left field does this factoid have anything to do with the South Siders ending their three-game losing streak while improving to 18-21 on the season? Well, Miguel Vargas has a habit of letting loose a celebratory dog-like bark in the White Sox dugout after hitting home runs.
Vargas connected twice on Saturday, marking his second career multihomer performance. On the second blast, a 404-foot solo homer in the fifth, Sam Antonacci joined in the barking with his power-packed teammate. According to the rookie outfielder, his bark is more akin to a lion's.
“Uh, that's the spur of the moment,” said a smiling Antonacci. “It’s like the second time I’ve done that. Just told KT [Kyle Teel] one time, ‘Act like you got me on a leash.’ I know Vargy likes to bark a little bit, so just doing anything to get the boys going.”
Antonacci did more than bark to spark the White Sox. The rookie singled off Luis Castillo and scored in front of Colson Montgomery’s two-run blast in the first. He was hit by a pitch, a point of humorous contention between his mother, Nicky, and Sam, after he was hit 39 times in the Minors in ’25 and scored on Vargas’ 410-foot drive in the third.
“Solo home runs, they make the game a little different there,” Antonacci said. “With a runner on base in those situations, it’s key. It doesn’t matter how you get on, but trying to get them more RBIs for all I care.”
“I just want to be a good hitter out there,” said Vargas, whose only other multihomer game came on May 16, 2025, when he also hit two at the Cubs. “I want to swing at strikes and hit the ball as hard as I can.”
None of these three White Sox long balls came from Munetaka Murakami, who is tied with the Yankees’ Aaron Judge for Major League Baseball’s top spot in that category at 15. In fact, Murakami finished 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.
Yes, Virginia, there is power throughout this burgeoning young lineup on Chicago’s South Side other than their prolific slugger at first base. Of course, anyone following the rise of this team knows all about the talent they possess.
“They’ve all been great,” said White Sox starter Anthony Kay, who picked up the victory behind this wall-clearing offensive support. “It’s just going to lead to all of them having success. You’ve got to pitch to at least one of them. It’s going to be fun to watch.”
“Yeah, they've been right there with Mune and the heart of the order taking big swings and able to change the score,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “Really nice job by Antonacci, too, to kind of set the table for those guys. But yeah, Vargas and Colson have been great all year."
Montgomery launched Castillo’s 94.2 mph four-seam fastball, per Statcast, on a 1-2 pitch with two outs. It gave the White Sox an early lead they did not relinquish.
His 10th home run of the season and 31st of his short career extended Montgomery’s on-base streak to a career-high 21 games, giving him 19 RBIs in that span. Montgomery’s connection was not off an easy pitch, as it was located high and dotting the inner half.
“He's pretty consistent in his performance and he's been performing really well since he got up here,” said Venable of his shortstop. “He's been able to make adjustments. They are attacking him with some heaters at the top of the zone, which is what a lot of guys are attacked with these days, but he's done a nice job of adjusting.”
“It's fun to watch those guys hitting homers,” Vargas said. “Definitely everyone wants to be part of it and contribute.”
Kay (2-1) struck out five over five innings and allowed one unearned run. But let’s go back to the news of the night.
A quick Google search shows the lion’s bark is “a harsh, guttural sound” as opposed to a dog’s bark. Vargas has compared his bark to a chihuahua and scoffed at Antonacci’s lion analysis for his own, pointing more to a house cat.
As Vargas was talking to the media, Antonacci walked toward the back of the clubhouse and let out a few more barks, leading to a smile and a shake of the head from the White Sox third baseman. You can’t beat fun at the old ballpark, especially for an up-and-coming White Sox squad.