Miguel Vargas homers twice as White Sox top Tigers

Vargas’ home run was his 22nd of the season. He hit a two-run shot off Ronel Blanco in the sixth inning. Vargas’ home run was his first since July 10 against the Athletics. Entering play Sunday, he was 9-for-40 (.225) with two RBI and eight strikeouts in his last 10 games. Vargas is hitting .242 with an .832 OPS and 63 RBI this year.

It was a close game until the White Sox’s five-run ninth, when Vargas doubled for his second RBI. He has five three-hit games this year, matching his total from his 309 career games entering 2026. He is currently tied for eighth place in MLB with 23 doubles and fourth with 68 runs scored.

Vargas checked out fine after being hit by a pitch on the left hand during the eighth inning of Friday’s blowout win in Toronto to kick off the second half. The 26-year-old middle-of-the-order force is at third base and hitting third following the injury scare.

White Sox manager Will Venable downplayed concern while speaking to reporters following the contest. Vargas will undergo precautionary evaluation after after being hit in the left hand by a 93.3 mph sinker in the eighth inning of a one-sided affair. He was lifted for pinch-runner Luisangel Acuña at the time, finishing 1-for-4 with a run scored. The 26-year-old, who launched a solo homer during his first career All-Star Game appearance earlier this week, has blossomed into Chicago’s middle-of-the-order force, hitting .245/.356/.490 with a career-high 21 homers, 59 RBI and 11 steals in 95 games this season.

Vargas supplied the lone hit for either side in a low-scoring Midsummer Classic when he took his former Dodgers minor league teammate Justin Wrobleski deep with a 433-foot blast into the second deck in left field in the eighth inning. The American League’s pitching staff was the story in this one, piling up an astronomical 15 strikeouts and tossed a three-hit shutout. Vargas was one of the driving forces behind Chicago’s rapid turnaround, finishing the first half with a .245/.355/.493 slash line with a career-high 21 homers, 59 RBI and 11 stolen bases across 409 plate appearances through 94 games. The White Sox kick off the second half with a road series against the Blue Jays.

Vargas blasted a three-run homer off Guardians starter Gavin Williams in the fifth inning to give the White Sox a 3-1 lead. It was the 20th homer of the season for Vargas, who continues to put together a career year as he’s now sitting on 20 homers and 54 RBI with just over a week to go before the MLB All-Star break.

Vargas reached all four times, as he also drew two walks. The 26-year-old has 19 homers on the season — this one a two-run shot off Luinder Avila in the first inning — and he’s driven in 52 runs; putting him right around a 100-RBI pace on the season. It took a while, but Vargas is starting to show why he was considered such an elite prospect when he was a member of the Dodgers.

This was an all-time blowout. Vargas got the White Sox going with a three-run home run that started their 10-run third inning. He chipped in another run-scoring double in that same frame and one last RBI in the seventh when they already had 20 runs home. In all, they hit five home runs as a team and did all of their damage against real pitchers. Infielder Tyler Tolbert actually turned in a scoreless eighth inning when all the dust had settled. Baseball can be a funny sport sometimes. As for Vargas, that home run was his 18th on the season as he looks to put the finishing touches on his All-Star resume.

Vargas’ home run was his 17th of the season. He hit a solo shot off Parker Messick to put the White Sox ahead 2-1 in the sixth inning. Vargas was hitting .250 with three home runs in 18 games in June entering play Tuesday. He’s hitting .237 with an .820 OPS and 45 RBI this year.