White Sox Found Their Groove at Home and the Orioles Are About to Walk Into a Buzzsaw

The Chicago White Sox came to Rate Field and flipped a switch. After stumbling 1-5 on the road to start the season, they just swept the Toronto Blue Jays and they're hungry for a fourth straight win. The Orioles roll into town Monday night battered and bruised after getting swept themselves. This is a White Sox team that smells blood.

Home Is Where the Magic Started

Here's how ugly the road trip was: one win in five games. But the moment the White Sox walked through the doors at Rate Field, something clicked. They came home and immediately put together their best stretch of the season. A perfect 3-0 record at home to start 2026 hasn't happened since 2004. And that sweep of Toronto? First time they've done that since 1995.

White Sox manager Will Venable gets it. "We are a good team," he said. "We are finding different ways to win. Contributions from everybody. With the way our group is set up, that's how we are going to have to win games."

Davis Martin made his case Sunday with a dominant outing. Four hits allowed over six innings in a 3-0 shutout win. Miguel Vargas, Austin Hays, and Lenyn Sosa each drove in a run. Martin wasn't trying to hide how big this moment is. "To win a series is great, but a sweep is even better," he said. "You have to continue to trust our way of playing baseball and, going forward, having fun."

The Orioles Are in Deep Trouble

Baltimore just got flipped the script. They walked out of Pittsburgh after losing all three games to the Pirates, including an 8-2 shellacking on Sunday where it got ugly fast. Chris Bassitt, a major offseason signing, got knocked around for six runs in just two innings. That's not the start Baltimore envisioned.

Orioles manager Craig Albernaz knows they're not playing clean baseball right now. "We still have a lot of work to do," he said. "We're trying to redefine ourselves as getting back to fundamental baseball, playing clean baseball, doing the little things right and we're still not done. We still have to get better, and that's on myself and the coaching staff."

Pete Alonso, a key offseason signing, isn't panicking yet. "Just because you have a slow start doesn't mean anything toward the end," Alonso said. "There's plenty of teams that have proven that over the course of time. It'd be great to go out and win nine in a row or however many games. But this is a marathon." Alonso did go deep with an RBI double on Sunday, so at least the bats showed a pulse.

What's On the Line Monday Night

The White Sox are sending Grant Taylor to the mound as the opener for the third time in four games. He's been sharp, pitching scoreless first innings in both his Friday and Saturday starts against Toronto. Erick Fedde follows, and he's got history against Baltimore. Career record of 2-1 with a 1.26 ERA in five games against the Orioles.

Baltimore hasn't named a starter yet as of Monday morning.

Chicago also got some good news from the rookie corner. Tanner Murray, called up from Triple-A Charlotte on Sunday, went 0-for-2 in his debut but made a spectacular defensive play at shortstop that killed a Toronto bases-loaded threat in the third. Venable is banking on his glove. "We know he's a plus defender out there," the manager said. "It's one of the reasons he's here."

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.