White Sox fans packed the mood after Wednesday’s 2-1 win over the Braves, a result that moved the team into first place in the AL Central for the first time since 2021. Chase Meidroth’s big defensive finish capped a series in which the Sox beat major-league-le
When the White Sox finally broke through for a 2-1 win over the Braves on Wednesday, it didn’t just change the standings—it landed like relief on a fan base that hadn’t seen this kind of spot near the top in a while.
Chase Meidroth. who made a key running catch in short right field to help end the game. put a fine point on the moment. “It’s June 10. ” he said—one reminder that the season still has plenty of length. even as the Sox found themselves first in the American League Central for the first time since 2021.
The standings still look tight. The Sox are 36-31 and hold a half-game lead over the Guardians, who are 37-33. The Guardians’ recent momentum was slowed when they were swept at home by the Yankees.
For the Sox, the win over Atlanta was also about timing and execution. They’d taken two games from the major-league-leading Braves. including a victory over Chris Sale. the Sox’ ace three rebuilds ago. Sale entered with the fifth-best ERA in the majors, but the Sox pushed back at the moment that matters.
“It’s great. and I think what’s special about our group right now is we’re really not concerned about who we’re playing. ” manager Will Venable said. “Certainly it’s great to be able to win a series here at home against a really good ballclub. But for us. it’s about going out and executing the things we want to execute. and obviously tonight. we did a really good job and it paid off.”.
The game’s center of gravity belonged to Davis Martin. He came off seven days of rest since his last start last week against the Twins. a start that had been his worst of the season. On Wednesday. Martin worked six innings and allowed no runs. giving up six hits while hitting a batter and striking out six. He walked nobody.
Martin tied that improvement directly to his body. “You look at what Minnesota was. I think we thought a lot of it [was] mechanical. but I think just physically I was exhausted. ” he said. “And I think the seven-day [rest made me] realize how much maybe the body was tired. That little blow was huge. Felt like the ball was coming out of my hand like normal, the shapes were normal. Kind of like back to myself.”.
The Sox’ matchup with Sale didn’t come off as luck. Martin outdueled him in a duel where Sale ran into trouble early and couldn’t fully recover. Sale allowed two runs in the fourth and left in the sixth trailing 2-0. He finished with six hits and a walk and struck out six.
After the game. Martin described what it felt like to challenge an opponent whose stats are already locked into baseball history. “I gave myself a little bit of time to look up; I know in left-center they have the career stats [on the scoreboard]. ” he said. “They had my career, 250 punchouts [278], and he had 3,000, 2,000, [2,671] some crazy big number. It’s exactly who you want to play against.”.
Offensively, the Sox struck for runs with patient baserunning and timely contact. Braden Montgomery—who had hit a walk-off, two-run homer on Tuesday—led off the fourth with his first major-league double. He scored on Derek Hill’s single. Hill then stole second. moved to third on Jacob Gonzalez’s groundout to first. and scored on Luisangel Acuna’s tapper down the third-base line with the infield in.
If the Braves had any opening, it arrived late. The Braves might have been shut out if not for third baseman Miguel Vargas’ two-out fielding error in the seventh. which allowed a run to score. That was the only blemish among relievers Sean Newcomb, Seranthony Dominguez and Bryan Hudson, who earned the save.
The save hinged on Meidroth’s defense. His fine running catch in short right field helped preserve the lead and end the game.
The broader story for the Sox is that their climb to the top is arriving in pieces: Martin’s bounce-back after a rough outing, a lineup that found a way through one of the sport’s best pitchers, and late-game stops that kept the Braves from turning momentum into a comeback.
White Sox Braves AL Central Chris Sale Davis Martin Will Venable Chase Meidroth Braden Montgomery Miguel Vargas Bryan Hudson MLB