The Pope’s Favorite Team Explodes for 22
Jé Tania
June 27, 2026
CHICAGO — This writer has been joking all season that Chicago’s sports teams have been the recipients of a little divine intervention. Maybe it was the Pope’s prayers. Maybe it was Kansas City’s depleted bullpen and stagnant offense. Whatever the reason, the White Sox put together a performance that felt almost heaven-sent.
The fireworks weren’t just saved for after the game.
On a night that ended with a Marshmello concert, the White Sox delivered plenty of pop, routing the Royals 22-1 behind a season-high 10-run third inning.
During the fourth-inning television broadcast, John Schriffen shared an anecdote from A.J. Pierzynski’s visit with Pope Leo XIV the previous day. After gifting the Pope the final-out ball from the White Sox’s 2005 World Series championship, Pierzynski, according to Schriffen, told the Pope the White Sox were in first place. The Pope smiled before replying, “Oh, I’m watching. I’m paying attention.”
If the Pope was watching, he saw a poised outing from David Sandlin in just the third start of his major league career. The rookie earned his second career victory after allowing one run on three hits over six innings while striking out six. Despite briefly losing the strike zone after the White Sox’s 25-minute offensive inning, Sandlin limited the damage and finished with a career-high 91 pitches.
David Sandlin of the White Sox delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Royals at Rate Field on June 26, 2026. (Jayden Mack/Getty Images)
As impressive as Sandlin was, the story of the night belonged to the White Sox offense.
There were plenty of questions about who would replace the production lost when Munetaka Murakami went down after blasting 20 home runs and driving in 41 RBI. Colson Montgomery and Miguel Vargas have helped answer those questions. Montgomery reached base twice and scored a run, while Vargas continued his All-Star-caliber season, going 3-for-6 with a home run, a double, two runs scored, and five RBI.
But the youth movement has proven fruitful for the Sox this year, and that didn’t change Friday night. Teel sent the first home run of his major league career out to left field in the bottom of the fifth inning, joining Miguel Vargas, Jacob Gonzalez, and Tristan Peters in the night’s long-ball barrage. Peters added the first grand slam of his career as the young core continued to fuel the White Sox offense.
The offensive outburst was historic. The White Sox scored 22 runs for the first time since 1970, tying the second-highest run total in franchise history. Their 23 hits were the most in a game since 2017, while the 21-run margin of victory was the largest by any Major League Baseball team this season. The White Sox also matched a season high with five home runs and erupted for 10 runs in the third inning, their highest-scoring inning of the year.
Chicago White Sox center fielder Tristan Peters rounds the bases after hitting a grand slam against the Kansas City Royals during the sixth inning at Rate Field in Chicago, Ill., on June 26, 2026. (Patrick Gorski/Imagn Images)
The Final Cut
With the All-Star break coming up and the trade deadline looming, the question becomes, have the White Sox arrived early? Championship windows in baseball open and close quickly, and with Murakami, Noah Schultz, and Everson Pereira slated to be back with the team sometime in July, Chris Getz’s job might be a little harder. Because we won’t be talking about sellouts at the ballpark, we’ll be talking about whether this team is buying at the deadline.
Who would have thought the White Sox would be here? It wasn’t most Sox fans, except maybe the one at the Vatican.
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