March 27, 2025 8:12 PM : Benintendi went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run during Thursday's 8-1 win over the Angels.
Analysis: Just weeks earlier, Benintendi's availability for Opening Day appeared to be in peril after he suffered a fractured right hand Feb. 27, when he was hit by a pitch. He healed quickly, however, returning to the White Sox's spring lineup March 19 and appearing in four Cactus League games before getting the green light for Opening Day. According to Kyle Williams of the Chicago Sun-Times, Benintendi said he felt comfortable playing the outfield, but the White Sox chose to deploy him as their designated hitter in the season opener, perhaps out of an abundance of caution. Benintendi got off to a slow start to the day with strikeouts in his first two at-bats, but he came up big in the bottom of the eighth inning, extended the White Sox lead on a 397-foot, three-run home run off Ryan Johnson. Benintendi hit 20 home runs in 2024, which tied a career-best he set in 2017 with the Red Sox, but he's failed to crack .700 OPS over his last two seasons after doing so in six of the seven prior campaigns.