Will Venable Doubles Down on White Sox' Decision to Pitch to Cubs' PCA

The Chicago White Sox' Will Venable wouldn't have handled the 10th inning any differently.

Aug 17, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago White Sox manager Will Venable (1) before the game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Inexperience started to show in the Chicago White Sox' heated late-game battle with their North Side rivals.

There were some obvious mistakes to point out from the young team. It all started with an ugly botched throw from Miguel Vargas at third base in the fifth inning. With the ball bouncing past Munetaka Murakami, the Cubs were able to gain the lead 4-3.

Fast forward to the bottom of the ninth with the White Sox two outs away from a win, and Jordan Hicks would walk both Alex Bregman and Ian Happ, allowing a Nico Hoerner single to tie the game at 5 runs apiece. Even worse, those walks could have been saved if Jake Rogers had not wasted his challenges.

Nevertheless, the most frustrating decision for most fans came from manager Will Venable. The White Sox had their backs against the wall heading into the bottom of the 10th after Cubs' pitcher Jacob Webb got out of a bases-loaded bind. With Pete Crow-Armstrong leading off the inning, the Venable decided to allow rookie Hagen Smith to pitch to the MVP candidate. What happened next?

Smith threw two straight balls before the savvy Crow-Armstrong took a fastball strike down the middle. The rookie now had some newfound confidence, sending a slider right into the middle of the zone. It was exactly what Crow-Armstrong was hoping to see, and he sent it out over the right field wall for his first-ever walk-off slam.

At that point, Crow-Armstrong had already dominated the game. He had a lead-off homer and three hits to his name. Why even pitch to him at all? Why not take your chances with Seiya Suzuki?

The decision was hard to ignore, especially after the Cubs were faced with a very similar situation to begin the inning. Instead of pitching straight to slugger Munetaka Murakami, the Cubs' Jacob Webb threw multiple pitches outside the strike zone and gave him nothing to hit. First base was open, so they decided to live with the walk. Webb then proceeded to strike out Miguel Vargas and Andrew Benintendi in back-to-back plate appearances.

Alas, when Venable was asked about the decision after the game, he doubled-down on the strategy.

"No. That's not an option there with Seiya behind him. That puts us in a tough spot and not a thought. I mean you think about all the options. But that's not one we're going to make there," Venable told Scott Merkin.

As James Fagen noted, the White Sox decided to prioritize the lefty-lefty matchup. In fact, it sounds like the plan may have been to walk Suzuki after potentially getting Crow-Armstrong out to give Smith another meeting with a lefty in Michael Busch.

Will Venable Stands By Decision

Aug 12, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago White Sox second baseman Chase Meidroth (10) is greeted by manager Will Venable (1) after hitting a two-run home run against the Cincinnati Reds during the sixth inning at Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

On the one hand, you do have to tip your cap to Will Venable for staying committed to his philosophy. You're sometimes going to make decisions that don't pan out, and that's not necessarily a reason to rethink the approach entirely. In many ways, Pete Crow-Armstrong simply got the best of Hagen Smith.

There is also something to be said about Crow-Armstrong's recent struggles. Going into the game, he was hitting a mere .111 with a .179 OBP in his previous eight contests. In fact, he had only a single hit in his last 17 plate appearances.

On the other hand, he's Pete Crow-Armstrong. While the last handful of days were less than stellar, he's still been in the MVP conversation for a reason. Not to mention, as far as that night was concerned, he was completely tearing apart the White Sox. He should have been the last person that the White Sox wanted to see up with the game on the line.

Does that mean walking him would have changed the trajectory of the game? Not necessarily. But it felt perfectly warranted, especially with such an inexperienced arm on the mound.

With that in mind, you would have liked to see Venable at least acknowledge that the situation could have been handled differently. No one is saying he needs to beg for forgiveness, but there is a big difference between recognizing the possibly flawed logic and doubling down.

Hey, I guess that's the good thing about having two more games left on the calendar. The White Sox were still in a position to win and could feel decent heading into their next two meetings at the Friendly Confines. If this series stays this tight, however, they're going to need Venable to make the right call.