Sam Antonacci showed exactly why many White Sox fans were clamoring for the call-up.

The infielder has burst onto the scene over the last year-plus, becoming known for his ability to make the highlight play. Fans even got to see this play out on the international stage, as Antonacci proved to be an essential part of Team Italy’s run in the recent World Baseball Classic.

Not only did the 23-year-old pull off a savvy defensive trick play, but he also became very used to running his way around the bases. He hit a monster homer and stole home against Team USA one game after hitting a bases-clearing triple that ended with his own sprint home due to a throwing error. Chaos – in the best way – simply seems to find Antonacci.

And what better way for him to record his first-ever MLB home run?

With the White Sox already leading 8-2 in their series opener against the surging Arizona Diamondbacks, Antonacci stepped to the plate in the top of the ninth. He drew an even 1-1 count before relief arm Ryan Thompson sent a sinker his way. Antonacci was able to catch it with the top of his bat and rip it down the third base line.

While the ball was called fair, it made its way into foul territory and toward a ball person standing near the wall. This person proceeded to bend down and briefly touch the ball, convincing Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to give up on the play for interference. The only problem for Arizona? No interference was ever called, and thus the play continued.

By the time Gurriel Jr. realized, Antonacci was already sprinting around third and headed home for an inside-the-park home run. The replay showed that it should have been interference, likely resulting in Antonacci having to stay at second or third. Since this wasn’t called in the moment, however, the Diamondbacks were not allowed to challenge what was ruled as a normal play.

*Cue the rage of Diamondbacks fans*

Even if Antonacci seemingly benefitted from a loophole, you have to give him credit for keeping his foot on the gas in such a low-stakes scenario. With the Sox already up big, he had every reason to take his bases casually. Nevertheless, the maximum effort speaks to why he has found himself on the major league roster less than a month into the year.

By the way, this wasn’t Antonacci’s only big hit of the day. In his first trip to the plate in the top of the first inning, he kept the spark going for a Sox squad that already had three runs on the board. Antonacci sent a 99.3 mph ball perfectly into the gap between center and right field, narrowly missing a home run. Colson Montgomery easily scored from second base, while Antonacci stopped at third.

White Sox Offense is Humming

An offense that started the year ice cold has been anything but over the last handful of games. The White Sox had zero trouble with Merrill Kelly, posting four runs in the first inning that helped pace them toward a fourth straight game with 6+ runs scored.

Munetaka Murakami has obviously been a major part of that, as the Japanese slugger has homered in all four contests. However, a true offensive turnaround was going to have to be a team effort. And Tuesday night was the epitome of that.

Chicago finished with 14 hits, which included all nine of their batters finding a way on base. Reese McGuire and Everson Pereira were the only two not to record a hit, but the former walked twice while the latter was hit by a pitch. Both players also posted one of the Sox’ 10 RBIs.

Five Sox batters even ended the night with double-digit hits, including Andrew Benintendi, Tristan Peters, Murakami, Montgomery, and Antonacci. Seeing Benintendi stay hot in the lead-off spot was particularly encouraging after his ugly start to the year. The veteran now has seven of his 14 hits over the team’s last six games.

At the end of the day, though, this Sox team is built to hit the ball hard. They added four more home runs to the board last night, which included back-to-back-to-back blasts in the second inning from Murakami, Montgomery, and Miguel Vargas. They now have 28 homers on the season, which is the sixth-most in the majors. Even more impressive, 14 of these have come over the last five games, which ranks No. 1 in baseball.

The big question now is whether this young Sox squad can avoid another massive slump. A young team is always susceptible to some ups and downs, but a real sign of growth is finding consistency. Let’s see if they can keep the good vibes going against Arizona’s Eduardo Rodriguez, who is coming off his shakiest start of the year.