The Phillies’ offense scored in bunches to defeat the White Sox 9-5 in the rubber match at Citizens Bank Park, flipping the momentum after each Chicago response.
PHILADELPHIA — The game kept trading punches, and the White Sox never got to settle in. On a Sunday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park, the Phillies’ offense kept coming in waves to beat Chicago 9-5 and take the back-and-forth rubber match of their three-game set.
The start belonged to Philadelphia. Phillies starter Tyler Gilbert faced the Sox opener, and the Phillies pounced immediately for a first-inning lead. Trea Turner and Bryce Harper delivered back-to-back doubles to make it happen.
Chicago answered the next inning. Drew Romo brought in a run with a sacrifice fly. and Sam Antonacci followed with an RBI single to take the lead. Then the momentum snapped back to the Phillies—Rafael Marchán. their catcher. pulled a two-run homer off Sox bulk thrower David Sandlin to swing the advantage again.
Over the next few innings, both teams continued to exchange leads. Tristan Peters added an RBI double, Brandon Marsh hit a homer for the third straight game, and Randal Grichuk capped a Sox stretch with a pinch-hit, two-run single.
Sandlin, a rookie, struggled at times but kept battling. He gave up three runs on three hits and three walks with six strikeouts over 3 ⅓ innings. Still. Philadelphia took firm control in the middle innings—three runs in the fifth inning off Sox reliever Tyler Davis. then another pair in the bottom of the sixth off Bryan Hudson.
In the top half of the sixth, the Sox got a near-moment that could have changed the shape of the game. Pinch-hitting catcher Edgar Quero fell a few feet short of a go-ahead, three-run homer, but Marsh leapt at the wall to haul it in.
Antonacci stayed in the game after getting hit on the arm by a 99.6-mph sinker from Jose Alvarado—one more sign of how hard this game was being played. And for the Phillies, the offense kept finding the gaps even when Chicago made stops.
Over the weekend in Philadelphia, the standout story away from the stat sheet was defense. Sam Antonacci and Tristan Peters put on a defensive clinic, and it carried into Sunday.
Antonacci. a natural infielder who has looked increasingly comfortable since getting shifted to left field this year. made an impressive leaping catch at the wall Friday night on a deep drive from Bryson Stott. That came after Peters made a diving catch on a sprint to steal a tailing liner off the bat of Turner earlier in the weekend. On Sunday, Peters robbed Harper and Marsh of extra bases with running catches near the wall.
“Its been impressive, and we’ve seen it in a bunch of different ways,” White Sox manager Wil Venable said of Antonacci. “Cutting balls off, a lot of the dives in front… He’s just continuing to have plays in which he’s learning from, growing from and continuing to getting better.”
Venable said the same about Peters, whose glove earned him a roster spot out of spring training, while his bat has steadied his role—he entered the weekend posting a .300/.356/.431 line.
“He just continues to make plays for us,” Venable said. “It’s really as simple as that.”
The Sox also brought updates to their clubhouse on injuries and recovery. Catcher Kyle Teel has ramped up his baseball activities while traveling with the team as he recovers from the knee injury that has delayed his 2026 debut. Teel is sprinting and hitting off a tee. but he isn’t at full speed on catching drills and still doesn’t have a timeline for returning.
“I want to be out there with the team,” Teel said. “The success the team’s having is great, and I’m just grinding every day with the idea in my head that I’m gonna contribute when I’m back back. That’s what really motivates me every single day.”
Rookie starter Noah Schultz is also working his way back. With right knee patellar tendinitis, Schultz is making “good progress” toward returning after the injury sidelined him after Memorial Day. Venable said Schultz is scheduled to throw another bullpen session this week.
And outfielder Everson Pereira, dealing with a pectoral strain, “looks like could be back with the Sox soon.” Pereira slugged a two-run homer in his second game of a Charlotte rehab assignment Saturday.
For all the Sox’s sharp moments—both offensively and in the outfield—the Phillies’ timing and run production proved too much in the end. After more than one swing of momentum, Chicago couldn’t get the late reset it needed, and Philadelphia closed out the series with a 9-5 win.
White Sox Phillies Citizens Bank Park Tyler Gilbert Trea Turner Bryce Harper Rafael Marchán David Sandlin Brandon Marsh Randal Grichuk Sam Antonacci Tristan Peters Wil Venable Kyle Teel Noah Schultz Everson Pereira
White Sox really found a way to blow it again huh.
I don’t even get how it’s 9-5 like that, was it that catcher dude Marchán or the “bulk thrower” person? Sounds like everyone was just throwing the ball around. Phillies always hit at the most annoying times.
Tyler Davis gave up 3 in the fifth and then Hudson another pair in the sixth, so basically Sox pitching fell apart mid-game. But also Marchán hit a two-run homer off Sandlin?? Idk, that’s the only part I cared about. If they just had one less inning… ya know?
This is why baseball is rigged like, one inning “snaps back” and then suddenly it’s over. Romo sacrifice fly like ok cool, then suddenly Phillies get waves?? Next thing you know Sox walk a bunch of people and there’s no way back. Why didn’t they settle after Harper and Turner doubles? Also I thought the rubber match means they always split games? guess not.