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The Chicago White Sox showed no rust against the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday after the All-Star break, winning 12-4 in the first game of the second half.
Chicago will attempt to win another series against Toronto when Davis Martin gets on the mound tomorrow.
Let's go over three takeaways from the big win! White Sox Offense Doesn't Miss a Beat After a surprising start to the season, there were obvious concerns about how this young team would perform in the second half.
However, the team curbed those concerns, at least for now.
The White Sox came out on fire, scoring five runs in the second inning, with left fielder Sam Antonacci capping off the scoring with a two-run home run.
After the game got a little close with the Blue Jays scoring two runs, shortstop Colson Montgomery came through with a bases-clearing double to make it 8-2.
This was huge for Montgomery, as the critics had been awfully loud about his inability to push through runners in scoring position.
Two solo home runs would once again give some uncertainty to the game.
However, a Braden Montgomery triple to clear the bases once again clinched the game for Chicago.
All nine starting hitters recorded hits in this blowout win.
We know this offense can score in bunches, and that's exactly what they did on the national stage on Friday.
Anthony Kay Struggles Again Something White Sox fans may not have wanted to see is Anthony Kay having such a short outing to start the second half.
Kay went just four innings in this one, giving up two hits, two runs, three walks and five strikeouts.
His control was ineffective in this game, which showed when he struggled in the third inning.
While he gave up just one run that inning, Kay threw 34 pitches, which would seal his fate of having a short outing.
This has been a common theme of Kay's season, showing the inability to go deep into games.
He has frequently gone less than five innings during the season, and you might have to wonder what his immediate future with the team is.
Next Up On Saturday, Davis Martin will face Shane Bieber.
The former Cy Young winner with the Cleveland Guardians has dealt with injuries these past three seasons.
He has pitched in just 13 games since the start of 2024.
So far this year, he has not looked like himself, giving up 15 runs in 17.2 innings.
The White Sox will hope to get to him in the same way they got to this Blue Jays staff on Friday.
Matthew Singer is a contributor for White Sox on SI.
Before joining SI in 2026, he worked for Heavy as an MLB contributor and Cubs on SI.
Singer has a master's degree in sports journalism from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.
He loves sports more than anything in the world.