Chicago

White Sox

Benintendi hit his seventh homer of the season off of Roki Sasaki in the first inning to give the White Sox an early 1-0 lead. It was the only homer the White Sox would manage on the evening despite an eight-run outburst that included a five-run fifth inning against Dodgers starter Roki Sasaki. Benintendi is slashing .250/.382/.571 on the month with three homers and six RBI.

Kay made it through the first inning without any issue, but ran into a bit of trouble in the second inning. After walking Kyle Tucker to start the inning, Kay would then allow a double and hit Max Muncy to load the bases with no outs. Santiago Espinal would single to drive home two runs, putting the Dodgers up 2-1, but Kay would tightrope his way out of danger after that to limit the damage, and was solid the rest of the way. The lefty was in control of the strike zone all night, allowing just one walk while throwing a strike on 61.8 percent of his pitches. This was a much-needed bounce back after Kay allowed six earned runs in his previous start. Kay will hope to build on this in his next start on Thursday against the Yankees.

The 24-year-old slugger had missed the team’s last two games after tweaking his back. He’s back at shortstop and in the cleanup spot for the White Sox against Dodgers’ right-hander Roki Sasaki on Friday evening in Chicago.

After the Braves and White Sox were postponed yesterday, the White Sox opted to bump back the entire rotation a day. Kay will go tonight and Sean Burke will go on Saturday. Neither is a recommended option against the Dodgers.

Hicks has a 5.60 ERA across 17 2/3 innings for the White Sox, so the team will likely not rush him back. He will continue to fill a role in the middle innings when he does return.

Levine mentioned that White Sox manager Will Venable said Smith is “one of the team’s options” for Saturday against the Dodgers. It would certainly be a tough first test for Smith, who was the fifth overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft. The left-hander has back-to-back Triple-A outings with nine strikeouts and just threw 92 pitches in his last outing, which was his most ever in a professional game. His strikeout upside is immense, with 72 strikeouts in 47 2/3 innings at Triple-A this season, but he also has 33 walks and posted a 17.6 percent walk rate last year as well. That has made it hard for him to pitch deep into games and could limit his fantasy ceiling in redraft formats.

The game will be made up on August 20. Expect Thursday’s scheduled starters — Anthony Kay and Martin Perez — to be pushed back to Saturday or skipped altogether depending on how each club wants to align their rotations going forward.

The Guardians will receive $250,000 in international bonus pool money from the Guardians. Jones, 28, has spent the entire season at Triple-A Columbus where he has slashed a healthy .275/.385/.460 with eight homers, 31 RBI and three stolen bases in 226 plate appearances. It may not take long for the former top prospect to get an opportunity with the White Sox.

Colmenares, 24, was in the midst of a solid season at High-A Jersey Shore, slashing .278/.403/.413 with three homers, 19 RBI, five stolen bases (in 14 attempts) and a 41/25 K/BB ratio over 154 plate appearances. Given his age, the White Sox may opt to bump him up to Double-A to see how he fares against higher-level competition.

Campbell, 23, was originally a fourth-round selection by the Dodgers from the 2023 draft class. He has really struggled offensively at Double-A Reading this season, slashing .216/.281/.412 with seven homers, 31 RBI and nine stolen bases in 218 plate appearances. He’ll add minor league outfield depth for the White Sox.