The White Sox shook up their order against the Tigers on June 21, sliding Chase Meidroth into the cleanup spot and leaving Miguel Vargas out of the lineup entirely. Sam Antonacci led off, Andrew Benintendi hit second, Colson Montgomery batted third and the game plan changed again before the first pitch at Comerica Park.
Will Venable made the switch with Davis Martin on the mound and a lefty-heavy group lined up against Keider Montero. It was the kind of move that changes the feel of a game before it begins, especially when the team had just lost the series and needed a cleaner offensive script.
The decision also gave Meidroth the first cleanup start of his career even though he came in with a.392 slugging percentage in 2026. That made the choice stand out even more, because Vargas was the one left out despite being nearly unwatchable over his last seven games, going.111/.111/.148 with six strikeouts. Benintendi, by contrast, had been one of the few steady bats, slashing.267/.313/.733 with two home runs in his last seven games.
Jacob Gonzalez was back in the lineup after an 0-for-18 stretch over his last seven games, another reminder that the White Sox were trying to find production anywhere they could. The order also included Braden Montgomery, Edgar Quero, Tristan Peters and Luisangel Acuña, while the Tigers countered with Kevin McGonigle, Dillon Dingler, Kerry Carpenter, Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson, Colt Keith and James Outman.
The shape of the lineup said as much as the names in it. Chicago was not simply shuffling batting order for the sake of variety; it was testing whether a colder bat could give the middle of the order a different look while a slumping regular sat out. If the change pays off, it will look like a sharp reset. If it does not, the question left behind is why Vargas was the one removed and Meidroth the one trusted to drive the offense from the middle.
