Just when it seemed the Bears had authored Chicago’s wildest season in years, the White Sox stepped in and said, “Hold my beer.”
The White Sox still have plenty of work to do before matching the success of the Bears, who won 12 games and knocked off the Packers in the opening round of the playoffs. Still, the parallels are becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.
Few expected the White Sox to become one of baseball’s biggest surprises. After opening the season 6-13, Chicago has gone 26-14 since April 17 and now sits at 32-27, just one game behind Cleveland in the AL Central.
Even more impressive is how they’ve done it. Sixteen of the White Sox 32 victories have come in comeback fashion. Sunday marked the White Sox latest come-from-behind effort, continuing a trend that has become a defining characteristic of their season.
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The White Sox’s energy has become contagious. Night after night, a different player seems to deliver the big moment, and the clubhouse now carries something largely absent during the organization’s three consecutive 100-loss seasons: a genuine belief that every game is winnable.
That was on full display on Sunday. Despite another solid showing from Sean Burke, the White Sox found themselves trailing 1-0, with just two hits through seven innings. But Colson Montgomery quickly flipped the script, planting a Drew Anderson changeup into the right field bullpen for his second home run in as many days.
Two batters later, Chase Meidroth was being waved home on a Tristain Peters single to left field to give the White Sox a 2-1 lead, which the bullpen never relinquished.
While Munetaka Murakami has deservedly gotten the bulk of the spotlight, Sunday’s win was yet another example of the White Sox next man up mentality. And a reminder that this team is deeper than many realize. Montgomery’s 15 home runs on the season are now tied for seventh in the American League, while Peters 1.3 WAR ranks sixth highest among MLB rookies this season.
“Different team, different mindset. We have all the confidence in the world with our preparation, with our guys. You gotta have that mindset, and you can win. You can beat anybody,” Montgomery said following Sunday’s 2-1 victory.
The confidence Montgomery described was evident throughout Sunday’s lineup.
Jacob Gonzalez became the latest member of the White Sox youth movement Sunday, making his major league debut after being called up from Triple-A Charlotte. He marked the 11th player to make his MLB debut for Chicago this season, tying the 1954 Philadelphia Athletics and 1946 Brooklyn Dodgers for the second-most debuts by a team before June.
Gonzalez made an immediate impression, recording his first career MLB hit in the seventh inning and looking comfortable in a spotless debut at first base. Fellow rookie Rikuu Nishida also continued his strong start, collecting a hit one day after delivering an RBI single. Nishida now has four hits through his first seven major league games.
But the weekend sweep wouldn’t be possible without the efforts of the pitching staff, who have allowed just seven runs in their last 46 innings of work during the White Sox five-game win streak.
Perhaps the most impressive performance during that run came from Grant Taylor on Saturday. Tasked with protecting a one-run lead with runners on first and second and nobody out, Taylor escaped the jam in dominant fashion. He struck out Spencer Torkelson on three pitches, retired pinch-hitter Colt Keith on a flyout, and induced an inning-ending groundout from Wenceel Pérez. He then finished his day off by striking out the side in the seventh to complete two perfect innings.
But with Taylor and Seranthony Domínguez unavailable Sunday, the White Sox got contributions from across the bullpen. Chris Murphy, Brandon Eisert, Bryon Hudson, and Tyler Davis combined for 3.2 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit.
The White Sox sudden turnaround has been fueled by more than just improved talent. They’ve developed an identity. Unlike the last iteration of Rick Hahn’s rebuild, this group has developed a strong clubhouse culture, with players consistently emphasizing a willingness to play for one another.
Perhaps Edgar Quero summed it up best after his multi-hit performance Saturday.
“Playing hard every day and that’s the mentality right now. That’s the new White Sox. The 2026 White Sox. The mentality is win every day and make the playoffs.”
