Jacob Gonzalez ended a bruising stretch by delivering the biggest hit of his young major-league career: a two-run single in the first inning Wednesday at Target Field that produced the first two RBIs of his big-league life.
Gonzalez’s first-inning knock snapped a string that had seen him strike out six times in a row earlier in the Twins series — a skid he said felt foreign. He called himself someone who doesn’t usually strike out a lot and said he simply kept doing the same things until the streak ended. The single was followed by another base hit in the third and a walk in the eighth, a full day at the plate after a night that included a walk as well.
The impact was immediate. Two runs, a first-inning rally and a rookie suddenly providing offense while filling an unfamiliar defensive role: manager Will Venable handed Gonzalez the first-base job while Munetaka Murakami recovers from a strained hamstring. Venable praised the result and the timing, noting it’s encouraging to see a young player get his footing and come through after a stretch of strikeouts.
Gonzalez’s presence at first base is born of need more than experience. The White Sox selected him 15th overall out of Mississippi in 2023. This season at Triple-A Charlotte he hit 19 home runs in 52 games, but he started 35 of those games at shortstop and only five at first base. The club is asking a briefstop-turned-power-hitter to adapt quickly at a position he rarely played in the minors.
The learning curve showed up earlier in the series. On Tuesday, Alex Jackson laid down a bunt that was fielded by pitcher Davis Martin; Gonzalez did not get back to the bag in time to touch it and the play produced a run. Gonzalez acknowledged his mistake, saying he should have gone to the base first and then turned around. Instead, he tried to catch and touch at the same time and wasn’t positioned correctly. He vowed to change the routine and not let that happen again, noting he’s never had to worry about covering that base on a ground ball until now.
The contrast between Wednesday’s offensive breakthrough and Tuesday’s defensive miscue is the tight seam the White Sox are stitching together. Venable said the club will continue to support Gonzalez and that he’s here to play first base for them; the manager also emphasized Gonzalez will keep working every day to do his job. For a rookie who described the six-strikeout stretch as likely the first time that had happened to him, the quick swing back to productive at-bats and an improved approach — he noted that walks on consecutive days sometimes “feel better than hits” because they show he’s seeing the ball — matters as much as the hits themselves.
The immediate question is how long Gonzalez will keep starting at first. Murakami’s strained hamstring prompted the move, but there is no confirmed timetable for Murakami’s return. Gonzalez’s two-run single and subsequent plate appearances give the White Sox a reason to keep giving him reps at first while the club evaluates the short-term roster picture, yet the defensive blunder and his limited experience at the position underline the gamble. For now, Gonzalez has given the team a moment-sized answer: he can produce offensively in the big leagues even as he learns a new role. Whether that will be enough to hold the job until Murakami returns remains the unanswered decision the club must make.
