The Chicago White Sox went back to a more familiar-looking lineup for White Sox Vs Rays on Friday night, with Sam Antonacci leading off, Drew Romo catching and Colson Montgomery back in the cleanup spot. Andrew Benintendi returned after a day off, and the White Sox were set to face the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field at 6:10 PM CT.
That mattered because Chicago entered at 57-51 and was trying to keep pace in a tight American League race against a Rays club sitting at 64-44. The White Sox also had just taken back-to-back walk-off wins to even their series against the New York Yankees, so the lineup against righty Nick Martinez was not a random shuffle. It was the kind of lineup that says the White Sox are trying to keep pressure on a top opponent while the games still count in the standings.
Antonacci was back in the leadoff role after opening elsewhere, and the order behind him was built to give the White Sox a steadier look. Munetaka Murakami hit second at first base, Miguel Vargas batted third at third base, and Colson Montgomery handled cleanup at shortstop after Randal Grichuk did it on Thursday. Benintendi slotted fifth as the designated hitter, Braden Montgomery hit sixth in right field, Tristan Peters followed in center, Chase Meidroth batted eighth at second base, and Romo closed the order from behind the plate.
Romo’s presence was not a surprise. Will Venable had used him in four of the last six outings, a sign the White Sox have been leaning on him more often than a single night might suggest. That is part of what made the batting order feel less like a one-game experiment and more like a manager settling on a shape he trusts against a right-handed starter.
Braden Montgomery was the one bat carrying the most obvious friction into Friday. He had been better since mid-July, but he arrived after going 0-for-8 over the previous two games, even though he opened the series with three hits and an RBI in the first two games. That kind of swing is the reason a lineup can look settled on paper and still feel vulnerable once the first few at-bats begin.
The larger backdrop is that the White Sox were coming off a stretch that showed they can still make noise, but they were doing it against a Tampa Bay team that has spent much of the year looking like the class of the American League. Chicago was also only 2.0 games ahead of the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central race, so every lineup choice carries more weight now than it would in June. Friday night’s order did not answer every question about where the White Sox are headed, but it did show who Venable wants in the middle of it when a game like this arrives.
