3 takeaways after Andrew Benintendi's 3-run homer in the 9th propels the White Sox to a series win

LaMond Pope, Chicago Tribune on Apr 23, 2026

Published in Baseball

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

PHOENIX — Andrew Benintendi hit a tie-breaking, three-run home run in the ninth inning Thursday, leading the Chicago White Sox to a 4-1 victory against the Arizona Diamondbacks in front of 20,405 at Chase Field.

The Sox went 4-2 on their six-game trip, taking two of three against the Athletics and Diamondbacks.

“Obviously going on a road trip like this and playing how we did, that confidence just grows,” manager Will Venable said.

Here are three takeaways from the series in Arizona.

1. Andrew Benintendi provided the big swing Thursday.

The Sox scored 19 runs in the first two games of the series, while the Diamondbacks had 16.

Thursday was about the pitching, with the score tied at 1 entering the ninth. Chase Meidroth walked to begin the inning and advanced to second on a bunt. Pinch hitter Edgar Quero also walked, bringing Benintendi to the plate with two on and one out.

“Just trying to look for something middle and stay short through it,” Benintendi said of his approach.

He connected on a 2-2 fastball from Diamondbacks reliever Paul Sewald, driving it over the wall in right-center to give the Sox a 4-1 lead.

“A big swing,” Venable said.

Grant Taylor picked up the win, allowing two hits and striking out three in 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Seranthony Domínguez struck out two in the ninth and collected his fifth save.

Davis Martin set the tone, allowing one run on six hits with seven strikeouts and one walk in 6 1/3 innings.

“(I) kind of got punched in the face a little bit (allowing a run in the first) and just responded really well,” Martin said. “Defense made some great plays, especially (Munetaka Murakami) at first, and (catcher) Reese (McGuire) called a great game. Getting involved the curveball and slider to lefties was really important today.”

2. The Sox displayed power throughout the series, led by Munetaka Murakami.

Murakami saw his streak of consecutive games with a home run end at five Thursday. The first baseman went 1 for 5 with a single in the third.

He tied a franchise record Wednesday with his fifth straight game with a homer, a two-run blast in the seventh.

Throughout the stretch, Murakami maintained a steady approach.

“At any plate appearances, I stay the same,” he said through an interpreter Wednesday. “I’m very focused on each and every at-bat. So there’s no special difference in what I do each day.”

But it has been a special run for the Sox from a power perspective.

According to STATS, with the homers Wednesday, the Sox became the first team in major-league history that concurrently had players on a five-game (Murakami), four-game (Colson Montgomery) and three-game (Miguel Vargas) homer streak.

They also became the third trio of teammates to each homer in three consecutive games, joining the Colorado Rockies’ Dante Bichette, Vinny Castilla and Larry Walker (August 1995) and the Kansas City Royals’ Carlos Beltrán, Raul Ibañez and Mike Sweeney (June-July 2001).

Montgomery’s streak ended at four Thursday after he went 3 for 4 with three singles. Vargas’ streak ended at three after he went 1 for 4 with a single and a walk.

Benintendi supplied the power this time.

“Homers are a quick way to score runs,” he said. “You have three guys with three or four (consecutive) games, five games in a row (with a homer), it makes scoring a little bit easier.

“But up and down the lineup, I feel like guys are taking good at-bats, taking walks, taking their singles with two strikes. Our approach has been pretty good this trip.”

3. Sam Antonacci was on the go Tuesday, joining the likes of Luke Appling.

In addition to back-to-back-to-back homers from Murakami, Vargas and Montgomery in the second, Tuesday’s 11-5 victory also featured a two-run, inside-the-park home run in the ninth by Sam Antonacci.

“That’s sick,” Montgomery said, praising Antonacci’s sprint around the bases.

It was the first inside-the-park homer by a Sox player since Nicky Delmonico on Aug. 18, 2017, at Texas. Antonacci also became the first Sox player since Kevin Bell on June 22, 1976, at Kansas City to hit an inside-the-park homer for the first of his major league career.

Murakami joked Tuesday, through his interpreter, “I want him to hit a normal home run.”

Antonacci had an RBI triple earlier in Tuesday’s game. And with the race around the bases in the ninth, he became the first Sox player since Luke Appling on May 26, 1933, at Yankee Stadium to hit a triple and inside-the-park homer in the same game.

“I’m getting jammed a little bit and a big focus was getting out in front and getting the barrel on the ball,” Antonacci said after Tuesday’s game. “I think I did a pretty good job of that.”