Chase Meidroth made White Sox history before most fans had even settled into their seats on Opening Day. Meidroth was selected as the leadoff man on the roster to open the season, and he took no time to show why. Meidroth battled against Brewers flamethrower Jacob Misiorowski, working the count full and jumping on a fastball, hitting it 417 feet to get the White Sox on the board. At 107.7 mph, it was the hardest hit ball of Meidroth's career. Meidroth also became the first player in White Sox history to lead off the season with a home run.
Meidroth's home run was almost the only offensive highlight Thursday
Meidroth's feat was an unexpected positive bit of history in an otherwise abysmal performance. Though the young infielder has shown a significant amount of promise, his name hasn't quite reached the level of buzz commonly found around Kyle Teel or Colson Montgomery. 2026 will be a crucial year for him to establish himself as a long-term piece moving forward.
Unfortunately, this wasn't the only type of history the White Sox made Thursday, and the other kind wasn't good.
The White Sox are the only team in MLB history to have a game where the offense struck out 20+ times, got 4 or fewer hits and the pitching staff issued 10+ walks.
— nugget chef (@jayhaykid) March 27, 2026
The White Sox have a young roster filled with highly talented players, but some growing pains are to be expected. The team will certainly have stretches of better baseball than they showed on Thursday, but may run into some roadblocks. Thursday's game may have not gone the way fans had hoped, but fans can be assured, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
In addition to Meidroth's historic moment, White Sox rookie Munetaka Murakami had the other standout performance of the afternoon. Murakami launched his first big league home run in the eighth and walk twice to reach base in three of his four plate appearances. It was a strong showing for the Japanese slugger making his stateside debut, especially against a tough opponent in Jacob Misiorowski. In a game where the White Sox struck out 20 times, Murakami didn't have one. That's a positive start.
Thursday's game finished with a mean-looking box score. There's no hiding it. But it's also March, the game was being played on the road, and it was the first game. Rebuilding teams are going to have these types of games.
There will be better days ahead, and likely worse ones too, but that is part of the process this team is in right now. Overreacting to one game says more about the frustration of the past than the reality of the present. Yes, it was ugly. But the White Sox have 161 more games to play. Flush it and go win tomorrow.