Chicago White Sox Defeat Tampa Bay Rays As Sean Burke, Miguel Vargas Return

CHICAGO –– The White Sox welcomed back two players who had been mainstays throughout the year, and they helped defeat the Tampa Bay Rays 6-5 Wednesday night at Rate Field, their eighth win in the last 10 games.

Corner infielder Miguel Vargas was reinstated from the injured list after missing just under two weeks with a sprained left hand, and he finished 1-for-4 with a run scored and a few important defensive plays at third base. 

“To be back in the field and help the team to win, it means a lot to me,” Vargas said. “Have to get back on the rhythm, but [my hand] feels good. It feels great.”

The White Sox also recalled Opening Day starter Sean Burke, who made three starts in Triple-A after having pitched in the Major League starting rotation all season. Burke said he was frustrated when demoted to the minors because he knew he was capable of pitching better, but he tried to approach the process with a positive attitude.

He identified a mechanical adjustment that made him feel more in sync as his arm unraveled through his delivery. That contributed to an uptick in velocity, maxing out at 99.8 mph on Wednesday.

"It was fun. It was exciting. I almost felt like I was kind of debuting for a second time being back up, just happy,” Burke said. “I'm obviously following along, seeing these guys playing really good ball the last couple weeks. So just to get back up here and help join that and help them win has been fun."

Burke got off to a shaky start, allowing a solo home run by Yandy Diaz in the second at-bat of the game. His demotion stemmed in part from issuing 4.13 walks per nine innings, the ninth-highest rate in MLB among pitchers with at least 110 innings. White Sox manager Will Venable said pregame that they specifically wanted him to throw more strikes and be more effective against left-handed hitters. 

Those problems popped up again Wednesday, as Burke began the second inning with three straight walks to load the bases with zero outs. But he got out of the jam unscathed by striking out Carson Williams and inducing a double-play ground ball from Chandler Simpson. Burke also got some help from shortstop Colson Montgomery, who made a nimble play to turn the double play unassisted.

“I was hoping he would turn it quick enough because I know Simpson can fly,” Burke said. “So as soon as I saw him, my head shifted over and I saw the throw was beating him, I was excited."

Burke allowed just two total baserunners across the third and fourth innings, but Williams quickly got to him in the fifth with a first-pitch solo home run. Burke gave up a single two at-bats later, signaling the end of his night with the White Sox leading 6-2. 

He finished with 4.1 innings, five hits, three earned runs, four walks, five strikeouts, two home runs, 68 pitches and 43 strikes. Burke hopes it was enough to earn another start in the big leagues as the season winds down.

“It was good,” Venable said. “The walks put him in a tough spot. Did a nice job getting some pitches on the ground there, big double play early on to get us out of it. 
But yeah, you know, just with the walks, it's tough to sustain that.  But I thought after that he did a nice job being in the zone, attacking. Saw a really good fastball from him, which was nice.” 

The lineup provided Burke some run support in the second, powered by a trio of doubles from Michael A. Taylor, Mike Tauchman and Lenyn Sosa to make it a 5-1 game. Benintendi extended the lead with a solo home run in the third, his 19th of the season, which is one away from tying his career-high set in 2017 and 2024.

“That was a great [second] inning for the guys,” Venable said. “Vargy with the base hit there and love the bunt by Chase. Reading the defense is something that we've been talking about and he's been working on and been looking for some spots, and that really opened things up for us. And then the guys behind him did a great job just continuing the rally.”

Despite leading by five runs, it wouldn’t be smooth sailing for the White Sox in the final five innings. Brandon Eisert relieved Burke in the fifth and allowed a two-run home run to Junior Caminero. Mike Vasil entered mid-sixth inning and gave up an RBI single to Hunter Feduccia, a run credited to Eisert’s line. That trimmed the lead to just one run in the sixth.

Jordan Leasure and Fraser Ellard  stepped up in a big way, providing scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth. Grant Taylor entered for the save, but he exited after just seven pitches due to a right groin strain. Venable said the injury occurred a few pitches into the inning, and that Taylor will undergo an MRI tomorrow to learn more information.

Right-hander Wikelman Gonzalez relieved Taylor and recorded two outs, and left-hander Tyler Gilbert closed it out with a strikeout of Brandon Lowe with runners on second and third base.

“When you're put in that spot where you have to adjust and be flexible,” Venable said. “These guys did a great job stepping up.”