CHICAGO — Miguel Vargas inflicted damage with the bat during a 3-1 victory for his White Sox over the Tigers on Saturday afternoon at Rate Field.
The All-Star third baseman caused some trouble for Detroit with his glove, and was a definite plus with his legs as well. Vargas picked the perfect time to show off his full game, after the White Sox slipped to second place by one game behind Cleveland in the American League Central following a rough 11-8 loss to Detroit Friday night.
“That's what I work for. That's why I wake up every day and work so hard for these types of moments,” Vargas said. “And for me, this group has been pushing me every single day. I’ve never been thinking about my individual stats. I just want to go out there and do the best for my team, and have some fun and always try hard.”
With those goals in mind, Vargas finds himself on the perfectly shaped baseball team.
Let’s start with his bat. Vargas connected on his team-leading 33rd home run in the bottom of the sixth to give the White Sox a two-run cushion. In the first inning, he walked against Jackson Jobe, swiped second base and then scored on Munetaka Murakami’s single.
That scenario left Vargas as the first player in White Sox history with at least 30 doubles, 30 homers, 20 stolen bases and 100 runs scored in a season, raising his total to 20 stolen bases and 101 runs after Saturday. He joined good friend and former teammate Luis Robert Jr. (2023) and Magglio Ordonez (2001) as the only White Sox players with 30 doubles, 30 homers and 20 steals in a season and became the first White Sox since Jim Thome (108) and Jermaine Dye (103) in ‘06 to score 100 runs.
“[Vargas has] been awesome,” White Sox starting and winning pitcher Sean Burke said. “Even down the stretch, he’s turned it up another notch on both sides of the ball, which is huge to see. Just running the bases today, too. We’re all super happy with how he’s been playing.”
Burke (10-7) became the first White Sox starter to complete six innings since he did so on Aug. 21, allowing one run on five hits while striking out five and walking three. Vargas made a diving stop and throw to Murakami to take away a Dillon Dingler game-tying single to end the fourth, but as strong as Burke was in a much-needed outing to save the bullpen, he received game-changing help from manager Will Venable in the sixth.
As the White Sox held to a 2-1 lead and Burke faced a bases-loaded, two-out situation, he appeared to throw a wild pitch on a swinging strike from Brett Callahan, allowing Riley Greene to score the tying run from third. The White Sox challenged that the pitch had actually hit Callahan, which would mean the ball was dead on the swing, and replay overturned the call.
That second chance allowed Burke to strike out Callahan, with the right-hander showing some fire as he left the mound.
“Just collectively looked like a funky play where we weren’t quite sure, maybe it’s even a foul ball,” Venable said. “Just held it and let [the Major League replay office] do [its] thing on the replay. Obviously a big play.”
“Even without the challenge, it’s a situation we’ve got to bear down,” Burke said. “If that doesn’t stand, just keep [the game] tied. It’s almost like getting another life back and just seeing that happen and knowing that I’ve got another chance to keep this thing in our favor and keep the lead. Once that happens, it’s just bearing down and making a pitch.”
Saturday’s victory improved the White Sox to 79-76 and moved them back to a half-game behind the Guardians in the AL Central, with Cleveland playing Saturday night against the Athletics. They hold a 1 1/2 game lead over the Rangers for the third Wild Card spot.
Noah Schultz struck out four over 1 2/3 innings following Burke before giving way to Grant Taylor, who recorded the last four outs for his 10th save. Taylor pitched 2 1/3 innings to save Thursday’s victory, but with seven games remaining, it’s playoff baseball in every inning, let alone every game. The White Sox seem confident in what’s ahead.
“One hundred percent,” Burke said. “Everybody’s got a lot of confidence, guys are playing hard. We’re all pulling the same rope. Everybody’s putting the individual stuff aside here. It doesn’t matter how you get the job done. It can look ugly – that was a little grindy for me today, but it doesn’t matter.”