Rookie Sam Antonacci finds ways to contribute
Springfield native Sam Antonacci grew up a St. Louis Cardinals fan.
But the White Sox rookie infielder/outfielder’s emotions in regards to the Cubs are fairly related to no matter crew they’re going through that individual night.
“I dislike every other team,” Antonacci mentioned Friday afternoon. “I want my team to win and put their best foot forward.”
Game 1 photos: Cubs beat White Sox 10-5 in City Series at Rate Field
Antonacci skilled the City Series for the primary time Friday, going 0-for-4 with a stroll in the 10-5 loss at Rate Field.
The Sox noticed their five-game winning streak finish. Still, they entered Saturday winners in 11 of their final 16.
“Honestly, (we’re) just relentless,” Antonacci mentioned of the latest success. “We’ve been down, a pair punches thrown at us early in a number of video games throughout this stretch and clawed (issues) again our approach.
“I feel the biggest thing is it’s someone new every night being the guy. It’s never going to be the same person. It’s just finding ways to get your guys one through nine — and on the pitching staff, as well — it’s who can play team baseball better. You can’t really play individually here.”
Antonacci’s contributions embrace slashing .319/.407/.493 (22-for-69) over his final 23 video games.
“Overall, we want Sam Antonacci to play baseball the aggressive way and we will live with an overaggressive mistake here or there,” bench coach Walker McKinven mentioned May 10. “But you don’t need to take any of that away from him as a result of it is completely different the best way he performs.
“Every single opponent notices it. He stands out in a good way. He’s aggressive, he plays harder than anyone, and that’s pretty awesome.”
Antonacci got here into Saturday slashing .274/.380/.417 with 5 doubles, two triples, one residence run (which was inside-the-park), 9 RBIs and 14 runs in 27 video games since being called up from Triple-A Charlotte on April 15. He has discovered ways to get on base, together with getting hit eight instances — tied for the third-most within the majors.
He was hit by a pitch on the proper leg in Wednesday’s sport towards the Kansas City Royals, and it had a lingering impact the subsequent night time when he legged out a pinch-hit double within the eighth inning.
“Got hit by a pitch the night before, I just didn’t prepare well enough on my end, didn’t really take the proper treatment that I needed to,” Antonacci mentioned. “Just felt it recorded a little bit from that bruise. Got here early (Friday) and got with the training staff and did some work on it and did some tests to make sure I’m good to go out there. Appreciative for all their help.”
Antonacci added of the painful approach to get on base: “It’s not the most fun, but it’s fun getting on base.”
According to Elias, Antonacci joined the Cubs’ Miguel Amaya in 2023 as the one gamers in major-league historical past with eight-plus hits by pitches of their first 25 profession video games. He confirmed that knack final yr within the minors, getting plunked 35 instances.
“That’s part of his game,” supervisor Will Venable mentioned Friday. “It’s a real skill that he’s got. He gets on the basis of a ton. Some of it is by hit by pitch. He sticks his nose in there and is not backing away. It’s part of who it is.”
Teammates recognize all of it.
“He gets in the box, he’s not afraid to get hit, he’ll wear it, he’ll kind of show emotion and I think it’s something we feed off of,” shortstop Colson Montgomery mentioned Thursday. “Even like (Wednesday), he hits a primary floor ball up the center and also you suppose it is a single and he hustles and will get a double and it is like, all proper, now we’re rolling.
“It’s like the little things he can do that can kind of energize the dugout.”
Minor commerce
The Sox made a commerce earlier than Saturday’s sport, buying minor-league outfielder Junior Pérez from the Athletics in trade for minor-league left-hander Jackson Nove.
The Sox optioned Pérez to Charlotte.
Pérez, 24, slashed .210/.273/.384 with 5 doubles, two triples, 5 residence runs, 19 RBIs and 23 runs in 36 video games with Triple-A Las Vegas this season. MLB.com ranked Pérez because the No. 20 prospect within the Athletics system.
“(He plays) above-average defense, some swing-and-miss in his game, had a really good year last year and hasn’t found it at the plate this year,” Venable mentioned Saturday. “Just a little bit of a better strikeout fee, however a man that hits lefties very well, producing various things.
“(He’s) a guy that we can go to work on and help progress at the plate. At his floor, a really good defender that can run the bases, a really good athlete.”
Also earlier than the sport, the Sox recalled left-handed pitcher Brandon Eisert from Charlotte and optioned left-hander Tyler Schweitzer to Charlotte.
