CHICAGO -- The White Sox completed the month of May with an 18-10 record, while finishing tied with Cleveland in the loss column and one game back of first place in the American League Central.
Anyone who had that occurrence on their bingo card back in February probably should also go play the Powerball or features the same mystical power shown by Mike Vasil’s dugout wand, ordered by Jordan Leasure for $20 off Amazon.
Then again, the White Sox players knew. They actually knew since SoxFest at the end of January. And with their 2-1 victory over the Tigers on Sunday afternoon at Rate Field, the believers completed a three-game sweep. It punctuated a 6-1 homestand against the Twins and Detroit, and in extending Chicago's win streak to a season-best matching five, the results strongly support that belief.
At 32-27, marking a high-water mark of five games over .500, the White Sox have the fourth-best AL record. They believe it’s an elite category where they truly belong.
“For sure. No doubt,” White Sox third baseman Miguel Vargas said. “I think our energy is unmatchable.”
“One hundred percent,” shortstop Colson Montgomery said. “We all felt that at the beginning of the year and in Spring Training. We all felt we had a really good team and had a lot of really good pieces. It’s just one of those times everyone is clicking and understanding their roles in this game. I feel like our defense is just nails.”
Detroit right-hander Keider Montero held the White Sox to two hits over six scoreless innings Sunday, making one run hold up from the first inning off Sean Burke. But Tigers manager A.J. Hinch went to Drew Anderson in the seventh, despite Montero being at 65 pitches, and the White Sox knocked out four straight hits against the reliever.
Montgomery started the rally with his 15th home run, marking his second straight game with a long ball. His 36 homers since the 2025 All-Star break trail only Kyle Schwarber’s 48 in the Majors. But this team is so much more than the power of Montgomery and Vargas, or first baseman Munetaka Murakami, who is out of action for four to six weeks with a Grade 2 right hamstring strain.
Chase Meidroth, Jacob Gonzalez and Tristan Peters followed with singles off Anderson. Peters’ single scored Meidroth with the go-ahead run, but Gonzalez’s grounder through the vacated spot at shortstop stood as his first career hit in his first career game. Gonzalez became the 11th player to make his debut for the White Sox this season, which is the most in the Majors.
This big league weekend journey for Gonzalez started at 10:45 p.m. Friday, when Triple-A Charlotte manager Chad Pinder shared the news of his promotion. He joined his wife, Taylor, in packing up his apartment and didn’t get to sleep with his Uber scheduled just 90 minutes away. His ballpark arrival Saturday, on his 24th birthday, came one hour before first pitch thanks to a two-hour flight delay.
It was all about baseball Sunday, with his parents, his wife, and countless other family members and friends in attendance.
“Yeah, I mean, it looked like a lot of fun and I got here and realized it is a lot of fun playing with these guys,” Gonzalez said. “Hopefully we keep playing good and winning and having some fun.”
Here’s a few other White Sox numbers to peruse.
• They are 16-3 over their last 19 home games.
• Their AL Central record jumped to 11-3.
• In one-run games, they improved to 12-6.
• No losing streak has exceeded three games.
Those numbers spell out success, as they start a three-game series in Minnesota on Monday before another set at Philadelphia. High-profile series at home against the Braves and Dodgers, and away in the Bronx, follow, so much more will be known about this talented team by the end of June.
So far, no complaints.
“We want to play the best teams out there,” Vargas said. “If they are the best teams, we are going to compete and see where we are. That’s going to be very important for us.”
“I love playing for this group. I love the guys in there. It’s awesome,” said right-hander Sean Burke, who struck out six over 5 1/3 innings. “I look forward every single day to come to the ballpark. This year, I feel like there are days where I go to bed and I’m so excited to pitch the next day, the way the fans are showing up, the way we are playing. I wake up every day and thank God I get to play with the Chicago White Sox.”