ST. PETERSBURG -- Colson Montgomery has a team-best 25 home runs for a White Sox squad now holding a season-best three-game lead in the American League Central after a 6-1 victory over the Rays at Tropicana Field on Friday.
Munetaka Murakami ranks next at 24 homers, with that number slightly skewed by the powerful first baseman from Japan missing 35 games due to a Grade 2 right hamstring strain. Miguel Vargas trails close behind at 23 long balls.
It’s a tough middle of the order for any opposing pitcher to attack. When they all go deep, as they did in this opener of a six-game road trip, the South Siders are tough to beat.
“That’s kind of our identity,” said White Sox starting pitcher Erick Fedde, who earned the victory Friday. “We’ve kind of morphed into this slugging team and when the guys are hot and swinging like that, we are arguably one of the best lineups in the league.”
“Having three guys who can hit the ball really well is always a threat to the opposing team,” said Murakami, through interpreter Kenzo Yagi. “So we just want to continue that and contribute to the team win and keep going.”
Vargas connected off Nick Martinez in the first, with a Statcast-projected 433-foot blast. Andrew Benintendi followed in the second, going a Statcast-projected 405 feet, and Murakami joined the club by going the opposite way on a breaking ball for a Statcast-projected 389 feet in the third. Murakami has reached base in 17 straight games and has four homers in six games after not previously homering since May 27.
When Montgomery crushed one a Statcast-projected 425 feet in the sixth off the catwalk, Martinez (10-3) had equaled a season-high in runs allowed, having already surpassed his previous high in homers allowed (two). This is already the fifth time this season that Vargas, Murakami and Montgomery have homered in the same game, tied for the most all-time by any teammate trio in a season, per the Elias Sports Bureau. It’s the ninth game Murakami and Montgomery have homered together.
“Every mistake I made went for a home run today,” Martinez said. “It's unusual, and they're a team that can definitely do that. I felt like the pitches I executed, I was able to keep them tamed for the most part. It's a good lineup that can do a lot of damage, and I definitely gave them some pitches to hit."
There was a chuckle from Murakami when asked if there was a good-natured rivalry between the trio, quickly adding there’s no friendly competition. Montgomery looked at it more as the trio playing off each other.
"When Vargy hits a homer or Mune hits a homer, it's just one of those things where it kind of just eases the pressure off of you of not really having to do too much,” Montgomery said. “So when both of them, Vargy starting the game off by hitting a homer and getting us going, it's, ‘All right, we're ahead now. Now, everybody plays to our strengths and stuff.’
“But it's definitely a weapon, having those three. Can't count out Benny, too. Benny hits homers. I think our offense is starting to click."
Fedde (6-6) allowed one mammoth Junior Caminero home run over five innings, striking out six without a walk. Tyler Schweitzer pitched three of the final four innings to help preserve a worn down bullpen, as the White Sox won for a third straight time, and at 58-51, matched a season-high at seven games over .500.
Their last two victories over the Yankees were of the extra-inning variety. So, it was nice for them to be in control from the outset.
Back on April 14-16 at Rate Field, the Rays swept the White Sox in dropping manager Will Venable’s crew to a 6-13 record at the time. That was the low point of this otherwise tremendous 2026 season for the South Siders.
Friday’s victory wouldn't be the definitive high point, not when the previous two victories marked their eighth and ninth walk-offs of the campaign. But it’s another statement of how good this team can be, raising its ledger to 3-2 in this stretch of 13 straight games against teams that would be in the playoffs if the season ended today.
This run ends on Aug. 7-9 with three at home against the Guardians, who now sit three games behind the White Sox in the AL Central race after their 4-1 loss to the D-backs.
“Obviously, that's really special to have those guys right in the middle of your lineup,” Venable said. “Do that five times, it’s really special. And tonight that was huge. To be able to get a really good pitcher like that, who was really good.”
“If we come in here, we do our routines, trust our process and stuff,” Montgomery said. “We'll get results."