White Sox vs. Twins Lineup: Teel Sits, Murakami Stays Third, Kay on the Mound, More

For a young team, the Chicago White Sox continue to have some impressive resilience. In another big-time matchup against a division foe, Will Venable's group took care of business. They won the series opener against the Twins 4-1, looking like the far more well-rounded squad.

With that said, while they may have boosted their advantage over the Twins to 7.0 games, they remain just 2.5 games ahead of the Guardians for the AL Central lead. Every game matters down the stretch.

Game Info

Who: Chicago White Sox (74-67) vs. Minnesota Twins (67-74)
Where: Rate Field
When: 6:10 CT
Watch: CHSN
Listen: ESPN Chicago WMVP 1000 AM, 107.9 La Ley

Chicago White Sox Lineup

1. Sam Antonacci, LF
2. Miguel Vargas, 3B
3. Munetaka Murakami, 1B
4. Andrew Benintendi, DH
5. Colson Montgomery, SS
6. Braden Montgomery, RF
7. Chase Meidroth, 2B
8. Tristan Peters, CF
9. Jake Rogers, C

Will Venable will roll out his usual lefty-heavy lineup. Sam Antonacci, Miguel Vargas, and Munetaka Murakami will be high in the order, per usual. Murakami's struggles have continued in a 1-for-24 slump with 11 strikeouts. He has a .128/.286/.303 slash line in his last 30 games.

It's fair to wonder when he will be moved further down the lineup if this continues. Colson Montgomery, after hitting his 30th home run of the season, will be batting fifth. Montgomery has two home runs in his career against Twins starter Taj Bradley.

For Vargas, yesterday marked his seventh home run over the last month and his 30th on the season. According to Just Baseball, he is now one of only five players to reach 30 HRs and a 4 fWAR this season! This puts him on an elite list with Pete Crow-Armstrong, Yordan Alvarez, Junior Caminero, and James Woods.

It's odd that Tristan Peters continues to sit at eighth in the lineup despite his great production lately. In his last 15 games, Peters is slashing .348/.423/.761 with five home runs. Jake Rogers will be behind the dish, batting ninth, with Kyle Teel taking a seat against a right-hander.

Teel suited up in his first game since July on Friday, going hitless in his three at-bats. The catcher deserves time to get back into the swing of things, but it's worth noting that his 2026 overall has left something to be desired. He's hitting just .182 on the year with a .563 OPS. Is it a small sample? Absolutely, but it's not hard not to wonder if he will have enough time left in the season to get fully caught up to speed. After all, it's only Year 2 for Teel.

Minnesota Twins Lineup

1. Luke Keaschall, RF
2. Kaelen Culpepper, SS
3. Ryan Jeffers, C
4. Josh Bell, DH
5. Royce Lewis, 1B
6. Kody Clemens, 2B
7. Brooks Lee, 3B
8. Gabriel Gonzalez, LF
9. Ryan Kreidler, CF

On The Mound...

Aug 20, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago White Sox pitcher Anthony Kay (18) pitches against the Atlanta Braves during the first inning at Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Chicago White Sox - Anthony Kay, LHP

After an encouraging stretch of baseball, Anthony Kay has struggled in his last couple of games. Against the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros, he has pitched fewer than five innings, giving up four or more runs. Kay's ERA is 4.46 in his last seven starts. He will need to pick it up against Minnesota for the White Sox to have a solid chance in this one.

Minnesota Twins - Taj Bradley, RHP

Taj Bradley has been one of Minnesota's more reliable starting pitchers. He has a 3.85 ERA in 2026 after a less-than-ideal start to his career. In his last game against the Detroit Tigers, Bradley went seven innings, giving up one run. However, he does have 66 walks this season, meaning the White Sox should be patient in their at-bats tonight.

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