Andrew

Benintendi

It’s the same thing that put him on the IL for a couple of weeks in June 2024. Benintendi ends something of a bounce-back year with a .240/.307/.431 line and 20 homers in 116 games. It’s not great, but a 105 OPS+ and 1.0 bWAR is a significant improvement over his 91 OPS+ and -0.4 bWAR from his first two years in Chicago. Brooks Baldwin figures to pick up some playing time in his place this week.

It’s interesting as there haven’t been any rumblings about Benintendi dealing with any sort of injury, but this is the third straight contest that he has found himself on the bench for — all of them against right-handed pitching. He also has good career numbers against Padres’ starter Yu Darvish, so perhaps there is a physical issue holding him back a bit. Will Robertson will make his third consecutive start in left field and will bat eighth for the White Sox on Saturday evening.

The 31-year-old outfielder tagged Rico Garcia for a 404-foot (103.4 mph EV) two-run shot in the eighth inning that pulled the White Sox to within a run at 8-7. That would be as close as the comeback bid would get. Benintendi is quietly having a solid season for the White Sox, slashing .240/.306/.431 with 20 homer,s 62 RBI and one stolen base over 469 plate appearances. It’s the third time in his career that Benintendi has reached the 20-homer plateau though he has never exceeded it.

He grounded out against Cade Smith to end the game with the tying and go-ahead runs on base. Benintendi was on quite the two-week hot streak before going 0-for-11 with five strikeouts this weekend. Of course, he wasn’t the only White Sox hitter to struggle in a series in which the team scored three runs in 27 innings. After being swept, the White Sox will need to finish 6-6 to avoid another 100-loss season.

Benintendi got the White Sox on the board first with a two-run double off of veteran right-hander Charlie Morton in the top of the first. He also singled and walked twice in the contest, reaching base safely in four of his five plate appearances. On the season, the 31-year-old outfielder is slashing a solid .247/.312/.434 with 18 homers and 58 RBI.

The 31-year-old outfielder jumped on a 1-1 sinker from Bailey Horn and crushed a 399-foot (101.0 mph EV) solo shot that gave the White Sox a 5-4 advantage that they would never relinquish. That would be his only hit in four at-bats on the night. For the season, Benintendi is now slashing .244/.307/.430 with 18 long balls and 56 RBI.

Benintendi got the White Sox on the board with a 398-foot (107.0 mph EV) solo shot off of Simeon Woods Richardson in the second inning that tied the score at 1-1. He then delivered a go-ahead RBI single in the sixth inning that gave the White Sox a 4-3 lead. He put the cherry on top of the lopsided victory with a 406-foot (104.0 mph EV) three-run blast off of Noah Davis in the eighth inning. With his four-hit night, the 31-year-old outfielder is now hitting .245/.307/.428 with 17 homers and 54 RBI on the season.

Benintendi briefly put the White Sox ahead with a home run in the fourth inning off Royals starter Ryan Bergert. Then, the Royals put up an eight-spot in the following frame and wound up scoring 12 unanswered runs. Benintendi has been acceptable oatmeal in the deepest of leagues with 15 homers and a .708 OPS in 99 games this season.

The homer came off a Ryan Bergert curve that Benintendi had to golf out of the park; Statcast said it was 1.02 feet off the ground, making it one of the lowest pitches to be hit for a homer this year. It was Benintendi’s first homer since Aug. 1. He was hitting .192/.244/.205 in his previous 20 games.

It’s a scheduled day off for Montgomery, and the White Sox are going right-handed heavy against southpaw Joey Cantillo. Mike Tauchman and Andrew Benintendi are also out of the lineup, and Chicago will have Jacob Amaya at shortstop, Corey Julks in left field and Michael A. Taylor in right while the lefty hitters rest.