Chicago White Sox shortstop Chase Meidroth (10) celebrates after hitting a home run against the Chicago Cubs at Rate Field. Matt Marton-Imagn Images

Chase Meidroth Joins Alfonso Soriano In Rare Crosstown Series History

Originally posted on Chicago White Sox on SI
By Jack Ankony | Last updated Jul 26, 2025 7:41 PM ET

CHICAGO –– The White Sox wasted no time attacking Cubs starter Shota Imanaga on Friday at Rate Field.

Imanaga laid an 89.3 mph fastball over the heart of the plate for his second pitch of the night, and White Sox shortstop Chase Meidroth drove it 370 feet over the left field fence for a solo home run. That set the tone for the White Sox to record season-highs with 12 runs, 18 hits and four home runs.

"Whenever Chase goes deep, I think everyone gets really excited," Austin Slater, who went 2-for-5 with three runs and an RBI said. "Not that he can't, I think it just hasn't happened a whole lot. He's our spark plug and when he goes we go."

Chase Meidroth. LET'S GO! pic.twitter.com/hAadO7cood
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) July 25, 2025

Meidroth only has three home runs in 78 games this season, but two have come as the leadoff hitter against the Chicago Cubs. Back on May 17 at Wrigley Field, he hit his first-career home run off Cubs All-Star Matthew Boyd.

That makes Meidroth one of two players to hit multiple leadoff home runs in Crosstown Series history. Cubs outfielder Alfonso Soriano was the first player to do so, hitting home runs in back-to-back games on June 22 and 23, 2007 off of White Sox pitchers Mark Buehrle and Javier Vazquez.

Meidroth has come out of the All-Star break swinging a hot bat. Entering Saturday's game, he was 12-for-29 with six runs, one home run and four RBI, good for a .414 batting average and a 1.069 OPS. The White Sox are 6-1 since the break and lead MLB with 61 runs and a plus-33 run differential.

"Nothing but fun. That’s all it is," Meidroth said. "Baseball is fun and we are building and building off each other and so it’s a new guy every night. It’s awesome."

"The big word is belief. I believe in the guy behind me and that guy believes in the next guy. All 26 guys we have in here. It takes everybody to win each night. There’s a lot of belief and trust. That’s huge. You hit as a team and as nine guys so that’s what we’ve shown in the last week. It’s how you win games."

This article first appeared on Chicago White Sox on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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