The Chicago White Sox may not have the best record in baseball—hovering below .500 all season—but if Friday night's 8-2 demolition of the San Diego Padres is any indication, this team is becoming appointment viewing. And it all starts with three players who are making fans sit up and take notice.
The star of the show was rookie left-hander Noah Schultz, making just his fourth career start. It didn't start pretty—a rocky first inning saw him walk two batters, commit a balk to move them into scoring position, and load the bases with another free pass. But then came the turning point: Schultz attacked Ty France with three straight fastballs, forcing a groundout to escape the jam completely unscathed. From there, it was lights out. After throwing only 15 of 29 pitches for strikes in that opening frame, Schultz flipped a switch, delivering 20 strikes on 27 pitches over the next three innings while allowing just one single and no walks.
While Schultz settled in, the White Sox offense went to work against Padres starter Germán Márquez. After a sloppy first inning, Márquez completely lost the strike zone in the second, issuing four walks. Three of those runners came around to score on a Sam Antonacci single, an Andrew Benintendi sacrifice fly, and an Austin Hayes groundout. Then, with two outs and the count full, Munetaka Murakami delivered the knockout blow—a no-doubt home run to right-center that gave Chicago a commanding 6-0 lead and reclaimed the MLB lead in home runs.
Murakami continues to etch his name into the record books. According to Sarah Langs, he now ranks third all-time in home runs through 32 career games. At this pace, don't be surprised if he's sitting alone at No. 1 by the time the season hits Game 50.
And then there's Colson Montgomery, who provided the exclamation point in the fifth inning. With two outs, Miguel Vargas set the table with a hustle double on a routine single to center. Montgomery then crushed a first-pitch fastball deep to right-center, extending the rout and putting the game firmly out of reach at 8-0.
From Schultz's resilience on the mound to Murakami's historic power and Montgomery's clutch hitting, the White Sox are serving notice: even below .500, they're a team you can't afford to look away from.