Mariners lose late lead, fall to White Sox Tuesday

Published 9:40 am Wednesday, May 20, 2026

SEATTLE — The Chicago White Sox were hitless through five innings on Tuesday against the Seattle Mariners.

After eight innings, they had just two hits — and one of them was an infield single.

But the team stuck with it and rallied for two runs in the ninth for a stunning 2-1 victory in front of 28,837 at T-Mobile Park.

“Never out of it,” Sox designated hitter Andrew Benintendi said. “We kind of got dominated all night. Felt like it, at least. We weren’t really barreling anything up. To come out with a win, it kind of feels like we stole one.”

Chase Meidroth tied the score with an RBI single to right field. Benintendi put the Sox ahead with a run-scoring infield single on a ball that deflected off the glove of diving first baseman Josh Naylor.

Reliever Grant Taylor struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth to wrap up a combined one-hitter for the Sox (25-23) in the win.

“I think it makes all the difference, to be able to continue to compete, have good energy, just have the belief that you have a chance,” manager Will Venable said. “I think that the pitchers have that mindset and feel that from our position players, and they just feed off each other’s energy and you just have a competitive club that just doesn’t quit.”

Sox starter Anthony Kay rebounded after a bumpy first inning, allowing just one run on one hit in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out five, walked three and hit two batters in the 89-pitch outing.

“We kind of just eliminated the sweeper — I wasn’t really able to land that for a strike today — so I think after the second inning, we kind of just got rid of that,” Kay said. “We thought it was a good idea to just get rid of that, and we went to a four-seam, two-seam, cutter and just led to some quick outs and thankfully I was able to get through the five.”

The one hit came in the first, a single by Julio Rodríguez, who scored later in the inning on a fielder’s choice.

Tyler Davis pitched 1 2/3 hitless innings, striking out four and walking one. Bryan Hudson struck out one while retiring the side in order in the eighth. And after the rally in the top of the ninth, Taylor blazed through the three batters he faced in the bottom of the ninth for his first save of the season.

“Bullpen was awesome tonight,” Kay said. “They’ve been doing a really good job all year, and it’s fun to have those guys behind you knowing that when your job’s done that they’re going to pick you up and keep it going.”

The Sox kept grinding offensively after not getting anything going early. Mariners starter Bryce Miller allowed one hit, walked one and struck out seven in 5 2/3 scoreless innings. The Sox didn’t have a hit until Tristan Peters doubled leading off the sixth. Jarred Kelenic reached on an infield single in the eighth, but pinch runner Luisangel Acuña was eventually stranded on second.

The team made the most of their chances in the ninth.

Munetaka Murakami walked and was lifted for pinch runner Derek Hill. Miguel Vargas got hit by a pitch. Mariners pitcher Luis Castillo struck out Colson Montgomery before being replaced by closer Andrés Muñoz.

With Meidroth up, the Sox successfully executed a double steal to place runners on second and third with one out.

“Huge play,” Venable said. “With Chase up there, you know you’ve got a good chance to get that run in if we’re able to get to third base. That’s why Hill’s in the game. He’s obviously got a ton of speed. Stealing bases is part of his game, which is why a win like this feels special, just because everyone contributes — guys coming off the bench, pitchers coming in from the bullpen, doing their job.”

The Mariners brought the infield in and Meidroth singled to right field, bringing in Hill with the tying run.

Vargas went to third on the single and Meidroth took second on the throw to the plate. Benintendi came up with runners on second and third and the infield in again.

His mind was on getting something in the air for at the very least a sacrifice fly.

“I was trying to get something early in the count and it happened to be the first pitch he left a slider up,” Benintendi said. “And actually didn’t do exactly what I wanted with it, but we’ll take it.”

Benintendi hit a grounder that Naylor couldn’t corral and Vargas scored what turned out to be the game-winning run.

Mariners notes

In his first home start since being activated from the Injured List, Mariners starting pitcher Bryce Miller recorded 5 2/3 innings of scoreless, one-hit ball while walking one batter and striking out seven. He logged 72 pitches and 50 strikes. It marks the second start of his career with seven-plus strikeouts, one or fewer walks, and one or fewer hits. It is the third such start by a Mariners pitcher this season, along with Logan Gilbert and Emerson Hancock. The Mariners pitching staff’s three such starts are the most in MLB.

Miller surpassed his three strikeouts thrown in his last start with a fourth consecutive strikeout for the second out of the 2nd inning. It is the first time he has recorded back-to-back starts of 5 1/3-plus innings with one or fewer walks since 2024. H retired 10 straight batters to start the game before allowing a walk to Murakami in the fourth inning.

For his third pitch of the night, he fired a 99.3 mph four-seamer for a strike, marking the fastest pitch thrown of his career, just passing his previous career-high of 99.2 mph thrown in his last start. The 14 hardest pitches of his career have been recorded over his last 2 starts since rejoining the team from the 10-day IL.

• Luis Castillo entered the game in the seventh inning, marking his first career appearance out of the bullpen. He is the 8th player since 1901 with 250+ career starts at the time of their first career relief appearance and first since Johnny Cueto in 2021.

• Julio Rodríguez singled in the first inning to then score on a Patrick Widsom RBI groundout. It marks his 15th hit in the first inning this season, tied for the lead in MLB. His 167 career hits in the first inning are fourth most in MLB since 2022 and eighth most in Mariners history, trailing Robinson Canó (168). His 99 career runs scored in the first inning are tied for seventh most in MLB since 2022, matching Houston’s Jose Altuve. He has scored a run in four consecutive games, his longest such streak of the season.

• Josh Naylor reached base safely on a walk in his first at-bat for his eighth consecutive game reaching base safely. He owns a .385 OBP in May, having found a way aboard in 17 of 18 games played this month.

• Colt Emerson recorded the first HBP of his career in the fifth inning. He has reached base safely in his first three games in MLB.

• Cole Young recorded a walk in his first at-bat of the night. He entered the game with a .812 OPS against left-handed starters.

• Patrick Wisdom recorded an RBI groundout to drive in the first Mariners run of the game in his first at-bat since being activated from the 10-day IL.

• Randy Arozarena drew his 45th hit by pitch with Seattle in his first at-bat of the game, tying Mike Zunino for 9th most in Mariners history. He’s tied for fifth in the MLB this season with seven HBP.

• Mitch Garver recorded a walk in his final at-bat of the night…is reaching base at a .345 clip when playing at catcher…has walked 12 times over 15 games behind the plate.

Herald news services and Herald writer Aaron Coe contributed to this report.