With the season midpoint approaching, the White Sox find themselves in the kind of position they haven’t occupied in years—tied for the AL Central lead at 41-38 and playing meaningful games. Manager Will Venable points to daily focus ahead of the All-Star brea
The White Sox didn’t waste the afternoon trying to look ahead too far. Before Friday’s game against the Kansas City Royals, manager Will Venable laid out what the team is chasing right now—and what could easily derail it.
“We have a lot of things that we’re working on,” Venable said. “The things that are important on a daily basis for us. how we are attacking hitters and trying to get count leverage and maintain count leverage throughout games. Offensively. continuing to put ourselves in a position to make good swing decisions and drive the baseball and making plays defensively. Really, all the same stuff we’ve been working on. Now, the focus is a little bit different. We have the All-Star break in a couple weeks here. and really for us now the focus is not let that be a distraction and really focus on the present and what today means.”.
That emphasis matters because Chicago is arriving at midseason with an outlook it hasn’t had for years. The White Sox began the day tied with the Cleveland Guardians for the AL Central lead at 41-38.
They’re on pace for 84 wins, their highest total since the 2021 AL Central championship team went 93-69. The following year, the White Sox finished 81-81. And after three straight seasons with 101 losses or more, they’re in a far different position than they were just a couple years ago.
Two years ago, they set a modern major league record for losses, finishing 41-121. Last year, they reached 41 on Aug. 1 and made it to 42 the next day.
This year has already shown signs of stabilization. They equaled their 2024 win total on Tuesday when they beat Cleveland 2-1. It’s a gap from the kind of slog the franchise knows too well—and the players feel it.
“It’s night and day,” second baseman Chase Meidroth said. “Energy’s a lot higher. The team’s really bought in on each other and wants to play well for each other and has each other’s backs. It’s a special place right now.”
Chicago’s home field has fueled part of the swing. Going into Friday’s game, the White Sox were 26-13 at Rate Field. Only Tampa Bay had a better home record at 28-12. But the picture changes once they leave home.
The White Sox were 15-25 in away games, a road split that Meidroth said needs fixing.
“I don’t think we’ve played as bad as our record shows on the road,” Meidroth said. “A few opportunities that we miss here and there and it costs us a game, so we’ve got to clean some of those things up.”
On a recent trip, the problems were hard to miss. The White Sox lost five of six on their swing to New York and Detroit, dropping two of three against the Yankees and getting swept by the Tigers. After this weekend, they were set to go to Baltimore for three games and then to Cleveland for four.
“We’ve got to be better executing in big situations (on the road) and keep going,” Meidroth said. “Playing at home is easy. Our fans show out every single night and bring the energy.”
Even the way the season’s played out has looked different. The White Sox had been in first place 14 days entering Friday; from 2022 to 2025, they’d been there for seven days total. They’re also hitting with more punch than most teams around them.
With 110 homers entering Friday’s game, they had more than any other team except the Yankees. Munetaka Murakami and Colson Montgomery were tied for the team lead and sixth in the majors with 20. The White Sox were leading baseball with six pinch-hit home runs. including three by Randal Grichuk—one shy of the club record.
They’ve also managed to keep games close, and sometimes that closeness has turned into comeback theater. They began the day with 16 one-run wins, tied with Philadelphia for the most in the majors.
Against Cleveland on Wednesday, Braden Montgomery and Grichuk tied the game with back-to-back homers in the ninth. Chicago ultimately lost 4-3 when Grant Taylor gave up an RBI single in the 10th. denying the White Sox their first sweep of the Guardians in a series of three games or more since 2015. Still, the team didn’t sound discouraged after taking two of three from Cleveland.
“This team has done it time and time again,” pitcher Erick Fedde said. “Even if we do lose, we make it tough for teams.”
The White Sox are taking those lessons into the stretch now. with the All-Star break in a couple weeks and the reminder from their clubhouse that what happens next depends less on what they can become and more on what they can do today. For a franchise that spent so much time playing out of necessity rather than belief. the difference feels real—even if the road still has to catch up.
White Sox AL Central Will Venable Chase Meidroth Cleveland Guardians Kansas City Royals Rate Field Munetaka Murakami Colson Montgomery Randal Grichuk