Three homers power White Sox to series win over Tampa Bay

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — White Sox left fielder Sam Antonacci began Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays with a grounder to second base.

Ryan Vilade couldn’t field the ball cleanly and Antonacci reached on an error.

It was the first of a few miscues in the first inning for the Rays. And the Sox took full advantage, scoring twice in the inning as part of a 9-1 victory in front of 23,559 at Tropicana Field. The American League Central-leading Sox (59-52) won two of three in the series with the AL East-leading Rays.

“It’s always great to win these types of games,” infielder Miguel Vargas said.

The Sox maintained a three-game lead in the division over the second-place Cleveland Guardians (57-56), who topped the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-0 on Sunday.

The first inning set the tone on Sunday for the Sox.

After reaching on the error, Antonacci advanced to third on a two-out double by Colson Montgomery. Andrew Benintendi then tapped a grounder back to the mound, which pitcher Griffin Jax bobbled. Jax recovered, but his throw to first was late. Benintendi reached, and Antonacci scored on the error.

Then with Tristan Peters batting, Jax bounced a pitch to the plate. Benintendi took off, but slowed as he neared second base when catcher Nick Fortes’ throw arrived. Rays shortstop Ben Williamson hesitated between going after Benintendi or throwing home when Montgomery started heading to the plate. Benintendi eluded him and Montgomery scored, giving the Sox a 2-0 lead.

“It was huge,” Sox manager Will Venable said. “To get two runs early is obviously a nice way to start the game. And really, because of those two errors, right? Those were two tough plays for them, where obviously they’re such a good defensive team that they usually make those. But a good job by our guys to take advantage of it.

“We’re just a really competitive group. When you compete, take advantage of those opportunities, obviously that’s a path to winning. We talk about continuing to battle and grind every at-bat and these guys do a great job.”

Benintendi contributed to the offense in a more traditional way in the fourth inning, hitting a solo home run.

Everson Pereira drove in two with a double in the sixth inning against reliever Craig Kimbrel, stretching the lead to 5-0. He added a two-run home run in the ninth against reliever Alex Cook.

“I thought it was really cool today to see (Pereira) who wasn’t even (originally) in the lineup and made that late lineup change (scratching right fielder Braden Montgomery because of a superficial skin infection on his right ankle), and had a big day. It was really a difference for us.

“You think about his season and ups and downs, obviously dealing with his injuries (left ankle sprain and right pectoral strain) and the concussion. It’s been a lot for him, so really nice to see him kind of get calibrated here and make good swing decisions.”

Pereira added through an interpreter, “It hasn’t been an easy year. A lot of ups and downs. But you know what, there’s nothing I can do about it. Now I just focus on what I can do and all the things that we have ahead of us.”

Vargas also hit a two-run home run in the ninth against reliever Chris Roycroft.

Sox starter Anthony Kay was terrific in the win, scattering seven hits in a career-high 6 1/3 innings. He struck out three and walked one.

“It was good to go out there and get some length,” Kay said. “I wanted to all year and it was good to just be able to be out there.”

Kay worked out of bases-loaded situations in the fourth and sixth while improving to 8-5.

“He had everything working,” Venable said. “Really great to see for a guy to work around some trouble there and really do a nice job.”

And the Sox continue to play well against some of the top teams in the AL East. After splitting four games against the Yankees, they won a series against the Rays (65-46), who have the best mark in the AL. The Sox limited Tampa Bay to three runs in the series.

“Any time you can win a series, it’s really good,” Kay said. “Taking two out of four from the Yankees and then two out of three from here, it shows where we’re at in the league.”

The Sox head to Boston, where a three-game series begins Tuesday, excited about their play and the new addition of pitcher Luis Castillo from the Seattle Mariners.

“I think we did a really good job to put the front office in that position,” Vargas said. “They can help us, too. It’s great.

“I think we are on the same page thinking about the World Series, that’s great for the organization and for the team.”