SEATTLE β Andrew Benintendi's infield single ricocheted off Josh Naylor's glove in the ninth inning Tuesday night, and the White Sox stole a 2-1 win from the Mariners to even this three-game series at T-Mobile Park. Chase Meidroth tied it first with a chopper through the drawn-in infield, and Benintendi ended it moments later. Four pitchers combined on a one-hitter. Chicago moves to 25-23.
Seattle had a 1-0 lead for eight innings and blew it in nine pitches. That's the whole story.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHW | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| SEA | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
The Ninth Inning Was Everything
Seattle sent Luis Castillo back out for the ninth with a one-run lead and AndrΓ©s MuΓ±oz available in the bullpen. It didn't work.
Castillo walked Munetaka Murakami to lead off. D.J. Hill came on to run, and Miguel Vargas was hit by a pitch. Colson Montgomery struck out β one away, two on, the lead still intact. Then MuΓ±oz entered, and what followed unraveled fast.
Hill and Vargas executed a double steal β Hill to third, Vargas to second. Naylor crept in at first base to cut off a potential chopper. Meidroth hit one right past him, Hill scored, game tied. Benintendi stepped in and rolled one toward first. It caught the heel of Naylor's glove and skipped away. Vargas came home standing up.
Two singles. Zero hard contact. Series even.
Grant Taylor struck out J.P. Crawford, Luke Raley, and Dominic Canzone β all pinch hitters β on 13 pitches to close it out and earn his first save of the season.
Bryce Miller Was the Best Pitcher on the Field
None of that ninth inning changes what Bryce Miller did for 5.2 innings. He was as sharp as anyone Chicago has faced this road trip.
Miller fired first-inning fastballs averaging 98 mph and touching 99.3, getting a groundout from Antonacci and back-to-back strikeouts to retire the side in order. He retired the first 10 White Sox hitters before walking Murakami in the fourth. He didn't allow a hit until Tristan Peters led off the sixth with a double β Chicago's only extra-base hit of the night. Seven strikeouts, one hit, 72 pitches.
He left with a 1-0 lead. The decision to piggyback him with Castillo β and then leave Castillo in for the ninth β cost Seattle the win.
Anthony Kay Kept Chicago In It
Anthony Kay isn't going to dazzle anyone, but 5.1 innings of one-run ball was exactly what this game required.
Kay loaded the bases in the first β a Julio RodrΓguez single, a Randy Arozarena hit-by-pitch, a Josh Naylor walk β and escaped giving up only the one run when Patrick Wisdom grounded into a fielder's choice and RodrΓguez scored. He settled in from there, finishing with five strikeouts on 89 pitches before Tyler Davis and Bryan Hudson bridged the gap to Taylor without a scratch.
Kay's path back to the big leagues is worth a moment. He spent 2024 and 2025 in Japan with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars, went 15-15 with a 2.54 ERA, and won the Japan Series in 2024. He's 31 years old, back in MLB on the South Side, and putting together a quietly useful season. His ERA dropped to 4.27 on Tuesday night.
Pitcher Stats
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | PC-ST |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kay | 5.1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 89-57 |
| Davis | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 30-20 |
| Hudson (W, 2-1) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11-9 |
| Taylor (S, 1) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 13-9 |
| Miller | 5.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 72-50 |
| Castillo (L, 1-5) | 2.1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 54-34 |
| MuΓ±oz (B, 3) | 0.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 11-9 |
Castillo's First Relief Appearance in 252 Starts
Luis Castillo came into Tuesday's game as a bulk reliever β the first pure relief appearance of his major league career after 252 starts. He was serviceable through the seventh and eighth, striking out the side in the seventh and working out of trouble in the eighth. Then the Mariners sent him back out for the ninth instead of their closer.
He walked the first man he faced, hit the second. That was enough. Castillo falls to 1-5 on the season and takes the loss in one of the stranger pitching decisions Seattle has made this year.
A footnote on Wisdom: the former Cub β who hit 84 home runs over five seasons on the North Side, including 28 as a rookie in 2021 to break Kris Bryant's franchise record β was reinstated from the IL just the day before after missing time with a left oblique strain. He started at third base and drove in Seattle's only run on the fielder's choice in the first.
What's Next
Game 3 of this series goes Wednesday afternoon at T-Mobile Park. First pitch is 3:00 p.m. Central. Chicago can take the series with a win.