Benintendi's Three-Run Double Breaks Texas, White Sox Roll 10-3

Andrew Benintendi doubled to right in the fifth inning, scoring three runs and swinging Texas's win probability from 52% to 18% in a single swing. The White Sox piled on from there, finishing off a 10-3 demolition that wasn't nearly as close as the early innings suggested.

Texas looked like the team in control early. Joc Pederson launched a 423-foot homer to right center in the first, and a Carter single plated another run in the second to push the Rangers to a 2-0 lead. Jacob deGrom was on the mound, and the White Sox had work to do. Miguel Vargas got Chicago on the board with a double to left in the third, scoring Antonacci, but Texas still held the edge heading into the fifth.

That's when the game broke open. Sam Antonacci singled to center to tie it at 2, and then Benintendi delivered the knockout blow — a double to right that scored Antonacci, Vargas, and Murakami in one swing, pushing Chicago to a 5-2 lead. The win probability lurched from 52% in Texas's favor all the way down to 18%, and deGrom was done for the night after 4.2 innings, having allowed 7 hits and 5 earned runs. Jake Burger answered with a solo shot to left center — 408 feet — in the seventh to make it 5-3, but it looks like that was Texas's last gasp rather than a genuine rally.

The ninth inning turned into a statement. Vargas doubled to left to score Meidroth, then Luisangel Acuña singled to right to score both Murakami and Vargas, making it 8-3. Grichuk tripled to left to score Acuña, and B. Montgomery capped the night with a double to left that scored Grichuk — a four-run ninth that turned a comfortable win into a blowout. Vargas finished 3-for-5 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored, the story of the night was his ability to come up with a big hit every time Chicago needed one. On the mound, Erick Fedde went 4.0 innings with 6 strikeouts and 2 earned runs — serviceable enough to hand the bullpen a lead, and Sean Newcomb and Chris Murphy combined for 2.1 scoreless innings to close it out. This was Game 100 for Chicago, and they made it count.