In partnership with

Ahoy!

The White Sox are halfway through the toughest stretch of their schedule — at least on paper — and things continue to break their way. They notched a pair of one-run victories against the Atlanta Braves to improve to 3-2 over this 12-game stretch, then had the finale postponed by rain, giving them an extra day of rest, as well as at least one more day in first place, before opening a series against the Dodgers tonight. Meanwhile, Shohei Ohtani is out of the Game 1 lineup due to knee inflammation, which doesn't hurt the White Sox’s immediate chances, either.

The only one who might be cursing his luck is Hagen Smith, because Thursday's rainout allowed the White Sox rotation to stay on schedule without adding a pitcher, and he looked like the Knight with the inside track. If Smith has to hang out in Charlotte for another week, he might have enough time to greet Kyle Teel and Noah Schultz, who are on track to start rehab assignments if they experience no further setbacks.

Also, Seranthony Domínguez is a little disconcerted about how few save situations have made their way to him over the past few weeks. But only a little, because the White Sox are in first place, after all.

— Jim

By JAMES FEGAN

After he allowed a game-tying three-run blast to Michael Conforto for his third blown save of the season on May 17 -- which in 2026 White Sox fashion, was canceled out by Edgar Quero's stunning walk-off home run -- I asked Will Venable if Seranthony Domínguez's struggles had him pondering a reworking of the bullpen hierarchy.

"He’s our closer and sometimes that spot for the closer comes earlier in the game, and we’ll continue to use him the best spots late," Venable replied. "But he’s still our closer, for sure."

Since then, Venable's profession of faith in Domínguez has been rewarded. The 31-year-old right-hander been unscored upon in his last seven appearances, allowing just four baserunners in 6⅓ innings over that span, and he even touched 99 mph multiple times in his most recent outing.

Instead of bearing any ill effects from pitching for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic, Domínguez's raw stuff seems unaffected, and he conveyed that he'd readily accept an offer to play in it again. It just appears that the first sentence of Venable's answer deserved as much, if not more attention than the second.

Four different Sox relievers have recorded saves since the Crosstown series, including a pair of Grant Taylor ninth innings that have offered unparalleled efficiency. Meannwhile, only two of those seven Domínguez appearances have even come in the ninth, and him pitching a scoreless eighth Wednesday night, before handing it off to towering southpaw Bryan Hudson to lock down his third save of the year against a lefty-heavy top of the Braves order, no longer scans as irregular.

"We're all kind of down there, just ready to pitch on any given night," said Hudson, who is having a resurgent season. "Matt [Wise] our bullpen coach does a great job of keeping us all locked in out there for certain pockets of hitters. Lefties versus lefties, righties versus righties, guys who have mixed splits, etc. He still keeps us locked in and does a great job of giving us an idea of what our pockets will be."

"[Wednesday] was a great example, where we have all the [Braves] lefties at the top of the order and all the righties at the bottom," said Venable, breaking down a decision tree that has become common for the Sox. "As you are mapping it out, you have [Sean] Newcomb and Huddy at the top and Seranthony at the bottom. If it happened in the eighth inning, we were at the top, it was going to be Huddy and Ser in the ninth. What is great about Ser and the rest of the guys is, Ser wants to close games, and he’ll continue to close. He understands for us to find our path to winning it might be best for him -- and other relievers, and for our club -- is to pitch in the eighth inning."

Howard Ankin, a third-generation Chicago lawyer, was raised in Chicago, attended the University of Illinois, and graduated with a law degree from John Marshall Law School. He founded Ankin Law with his dad in 1997.

Ankin Law was built on a foundation of helping injured workers, and today is the largest filer of workers’s compensation cases in the state.

With over 100 attorneys and staff, Ankin Law has the talent, sophistication, and resources to handle injuries from car, truck, slip and fall cases, to catastrophic injuries and death cases with multiple negligent parties. Ankin Law recently settled a serious injury case for 10MM. 

If you’ve been hurt at work, in your car, or if you or someone you know has suffered a medical mistake, Ankin Law is here to help. Injury law made personal – that’s Ankin Law. Call 312.600.0000 for a free consultation or visit ankinlaw.com

A good White Sox team deserves great coverage. Here's a sample of what we've put forth over the last week:

Josh now places Texas prep shortstop Grady Emerson as the 2026 MLB draft's best prospect. Now, does the White Sox draft room agree?

You are receiving this newsletter as a registered member of Sox Machine. If you’ve had this email forwarded, consider subscribing to our exclusive coverage of the White Sox and their minor-league affiliates here.