[XxVols98xX]

Series Overview

You went into L.A. at 31–53 facing a 53–32 juggernaut and walked out taking 2 of 3.
Final records: Sox 33–54, Dodgers 54–34.

Theme of the set:

Game 1: classic “ace duel, heartbreaking walk-off.”

Game 2: total humiliation of the Dodgers in their own park.

Game 3: jump on Glasnow early and hang on while the pen white-knuckles the finish.

It’s also the clearest sign yet that this lineup can absolutely hang with elite pitching when it’s locked in.

Game 1 – Yamamoto edges you in a heartbreaker (2–1 LAD)

Dodgers 2, White Sox 1 (walk-off)

Davis Martin gave you everything: 4.2 IP, 0 R, working around traffic and keeping Betts/Ohtani/Freddie in the yard.

Jared Shuster and A.J. Minter carried it into the late innings, but the margin for error was razor-thin.

Offensively you just couldn’t string anything together against Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s mix.

Only run: Miguel Vargas’ monster solo shot in the 7th to dead-center to tie it 1–1.

Bottom 9th: Minter gets burned—Andy Pages rifles a leadoff double, moves up on a fly ball, and Shohei Ohtani walks it off with a sharp ground single.

Vibe: you matched the Dodgers pitch for pitch but lost on star power in the final at-bat. Moral victory, actual L.

Game 2 – The 14-run nuke (14–2 CWS)

White Sox 14, Dodgers 2

This might be the signature win of the season so far.

The 7-run 3rd

It starts with Travis Jankowski reaching, Josh Rojas lacing an RBI single, and from there Dustin May just melts.

Bases loaded, no outs, and Edgar Quero demolishes a grand slam to right. 7-0 before the Dodgers can catch their breath.

Luis Robert adds a walk and run, Kyle Teel brings him in, and the inning feels endless from L.A.’s perspective.

Never letting up

You don’t turtle after the big inning:

Kyle Teel: 4 hits, a double, 3 runs, everywhere.

Chase Meidroth: 4-for-5 with a 3-run homer in the 5th that turns it into a full-on massacre.

Rojas + Jankowski: chaos duo—steals, line drives, constant pressure.

The running game goes wild: Luis Robert, Jankowski (3 SB), Teel, Rosario all swiping bags.

On the mound:

Shane Smith shows why he just won AL Rookie of the Month: 6 shutout innings, 10 K, just 3 hits.

Fraser Ellard and Brandon Eisert mop up; only blemish is a late Freddie Freeman homer and some 9th-inning noise.

Dodgers fans are booing by the middle innings. You also ding them physically: Eduardo Quintero gets hit and leaves hurt.

Game 3 – Jumping Glasnow, then surviving the late push (9–4 CWS)

White Sox 9, Dodgers 4

From first inning on, this felt like your game.

Blitzing Glasnow

Top 1st:

Benintendi and Vargas singles set the table.

With bases loaded, Kyle Teel detonates a bases-clearing triple into the LF corner. 3–0 before Dodgers fans sit down.

Top 2nd:

Jankowski walk + steal, then:

Benintendi: 2-run homer to right.

Vargas: back-to-back solo shot.

It’s 6–0 and Glasnow is cooked before the park has even cooled off from last night’s beating.

Vasil holds the line

Mike Vasil: 6 IP, 1 ER, 5 K. He walks a tightrope with some baserunners but constantly executes when needed.

The big danger inning is the 7th:

Bryse Wilson and Penn Murfee combine to let the Dodgers back in: Rojas RBI single, Mookie Betts triple, then an Ohtani bomb off Murfee. Suddenly it’s 6–4.

Closing the door with insurance

Top 9th is huge:

Alfonzo and Meidroth draw walks.

Benintendi ropes another single, Vargas follows with an RBI knock, then Luis Robert Jr. lines a run-scoring single.

What was a 6–4 nail-biter is now a 9–4 cushion.

Mike Clevinger takes the 9th. He allows some traffic but strikes out Teoscar Hernández to end it.

Series Standouts

Miguel Vargas

HR in all three games (solo off Yamamoto, grand show in G2, HR + big knocks in G3).

Continues to be the middle-order engine; also quietly steals a bag in the blowout.

Chase Meidroth

Tablesetter from hell: multi-hit games in the wins, 3-run homer and 4-hit night in Game 2, constantly on base in Game 3’s insurance rally.

Looks like your long-term 2B solution.

Edgar Quero

The grand slam changed the entire tone of the series.

Also caught all the chaos of Game 2 and handled Smith brilliantly.

Kyle Teel

Breakout moment: 4 hits and a pile of RBIs in the 14-2 game, plus the Game 3 first-inning triple that set the tone.

Defense and running game add another layer to the offense.

Rotation trio: Martin – Smith – Vasil

Martin: 4.2 scoreless vs one of the best lineups in baseball.

Smith: 6 scoreless, 10 K, only 4 Dodgers even reach base.

Vasil: 6 IP, 1 ER, kept the ball in the yard until the pen tried to gift it back.

Big Picture Takeaways

You just won a road series vs a legit World Series contender.
That’s a psychological boost for a 33–54 club trying to figure out who’s part of the next winning Sox core.

The offense isn’t a black hole anymore.
Meidroth (OBP monster), Vargas, Benintendi, Robert, Teel, Quero, Rojas, and Jankowski give you length and different looks—power, speed, on-base skills.

Starting pitching foundation looks real.

Smith and Vasil look like mid-rotation or better options on a good team.

Martin’s more than a depth arm.

Bullpen is still volatile.

Minter eats the walk-off in Game 1 and has traffic in Game 3.

Wilson/Murfee nearly blow Game 3 before the offense bails them out.
The series screams “you’re at least one more trusted leverage arm short.”

Identity forming:

Aggressive baserunning, high-contact contact guys at the top, and just enough slug to punish mistakes.

Defensively you’re mostly solid, though late-inning miscues and walks can still snowball.