If there’s a standout quality of Will Venable, it’s his even-keeled demeanor. Whether his White Sox have won, lost, or delivered a dramatic finish like they have twice in this weekend’s series against the Mets, Venable is consistently unflappable.
That’s a part of the reason why the 2026 White Sox have never let the losses pile up; they have yet to see a losing streak go longer than four games this season. Venable’s messaging to his team has produced a group that, despite one of the most dramatic two-year turnarounds in sports history and poised to be a playoff team with just over 30 games left to play, looks ready for postseason pressure.
“Unbelievable human being to spend every single day with,” bench coach Walker McKinven said of Venable. “That makes it fun, and that makes it easy to promote a good working environment for not only me but everyone here — players, coaches, support staff — and Will’s energy and Will’s demeanor just kind of trickles out to the entire organization, really.”
Thanks in part to the mindset and approach that Venable has brought to the Sox, they are well-positioned to win a division title. Reaching the playoffs is not a certainty at this point, but going into Sunday’s game, they had an over 72 percent chance, according to Fangraphs.
Those odds will climb a little after Sunday’s 2-1 walk-off win over the Mets, the second Sox walk-off victory of the weekend and eleventh of the season. Whether or not the Sox will respond well to the pressure of the postseason will have to be seen, but if their regular season performances in those situations is an indicator, Venable’s team looks up to the crucible of October baseball.
“We handle those stressful situations really well, and I’m very confident in our team to win those games, even if we’re down a few runs,” said Tristan Peters, the hero of Sunday’s game.
The Sox were locked in a 0-0 tie for seven full innings, took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the eighth on Andrew Benintendi’s RBI triple, saw the Mets tie the game again in the ninth, and then Peters delivered a game-winning solo shot to deep center field.
The Benintendi triple and Peters’ home run are the standout moments. A walk-off win is always described in the context of which hitter came through in the big spots, but the other side of wins like these is that they inevitably also require solid pitching performances.
In Sunday’s win, Venable leaned on Sean Newcomb as an opener, letting him pitch into the third inning. From there, Erick Fedde took over. Using an opener has worked pretty well for the Sox this season, and it’s helped Fedde turn in a string of solid outings.
And when Fedde got into a bit of a jam, putting two runners on with nobody out in the seventh inning, the Sox have guys ready for those pressure spots. Coming in for Fedde, Hagen Smith struck out three straight hitters and ended the Mets scoring threat.
That’s the kind of pitching that wins games in August and in October.
“When he’s in the zone, he’s–I don’t want to say unhittable, but it’s hard to square him up,” Venable said of his rookie reliever. “We’re seeing a lot of swing and miss with all of his stuff in the zone, and when he’s able to do that, he’s really impactful.”
Obviously, a late August win over the Mets — a team that is arguably among the most disappointing of the season — isn’t going to be quite the same as the experience of a playoff game, but finding ways to win games like the ones the Sox played against their crosstown rivals and against the Mets this weekend is going to help them be prepared.
“It replicates playoff games pretty well with how close they are and how late they are,” Sam Antonacci said. “Being able to have a bunch of those under our belt if we are fortunate enough to make the playoffs, that’s one of our goals. Just hit the ground running.”
The Venable mentality when it comes to responding to pressure does seem to have trickled down throughout the organization. Peters, who has been a key part of multiple Sox walk-offs this season, said he doesn’t feel the strain of coming up to bat in the bottom of the ninth of a tie game.
Why not? Because it’s the kind of thing players dream up in their back yards when they’re kids, and he chooses instead to embrace the fun in those kinds of moments.
Same with Grant Taylor, who has increasingly been called upon to pitch some of the most high-leverage, high-pressure innings, including the top of the ninth on Sunday. Though he couldn’t hold the 1-0 lead, Taylor pitched through a jam and avoided letting the Mets get ahead.
“I enjoy it,” he told CHGO. “I think it’s fine. I don’t think there’s a whole lot of added pressure to certain situations because that’s typically what I throw in every time. It’s kind of just pitching and having fun. It’s not a bad gig, you get to go pitch in in a big league baseball game. I just try and enjoy it.”
In the end, what will probably work for the Sox in the playoffs is continuing to lean on what’s gotten them this far. They’re in first place in their division and a possible two-seed in the playoffs this late in August in part because the Venable-inspired even-keel approach has the Sox prepared to handle the growing pressure that will come with reaching the postseason.
Between now and then, don’t look for anything to change about how Venable’s team plays, either.
“We’re absolutely not trying to reinvent the wheel here just because there’s 30 something games left and we’re in a desirable position,” McKinven said. “We [are] process oriented. Take it day by day […] We are treating each game on its own. Small eye on the week ahead with those things and planning things out, but we’re trying to win today, win tonight, every single day with what we have available to us, and and we’re going to keep doing that through the next month and a half until hopefully we’re playing more games.”
