The White Sox scored seven runs over the first two innings on Tuesday night en route to a fun 11-5 rout over the Diamondbacks. Munetaka Murakami continued his torrid rookie year by homering in his fourth consecutive game to run his total to nine. Fellow rookie Sam Antonacci collected his first MLB home run in the ninth inning and it came in the most unusual fashion.
The speedy lefty drove a ball down the third-base line and kept hustling even as it became clear that the ball person had interfered with the play. Antonacci simply did not stop and gained steam around second while Arizona left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. assumed an umpire would step in and rule this a ground rule double. By the time he realized the ball was still live it was too late to get Antonacci at the plate.
The end result was a bizarre inside-the-park home run.
Sam Antonacci’s first MLB Home Run is an inside-the-parker! pic.twitter.com/1B5icEHbLZ
— Sox On 35th (@SoxOn35th) April 22, 2026
“I’m feeling like it kind of exemplifies who I am as a player,” Antonacci said after the game. “It was 8-2 and I feel like a normal player would just cruise in, standing up at second. Just take their double, and I just wanted the extra base. I wasn’t going to say anything. I was just going to take it.”
Antonacci is the first player to have his first round-tripper not clear the fence since Texas' Wyatt Langford in 2024.
The Diamondbacks understandably wanted to challenge the play as the live ball obviously hit the ball person's glove and therefore should have been ruled dead. But they were unable to because no interference was initially ruled.
Rules are rules yet this one doesn't make the most sense. It feels like an obvious loophole in which something unfair can happen without a chance for the umpiring crew to rectify it. Luckily it happened in an April game with the outcome already decided and brought a lot of joy to a young player who will always remember the strange circumstances of his first dinger.
Antonacci, a former fifth round pick from Coastal Carolina, is just 21 at-bats into his career. He's collected four total hits—none weirder than the one featured above—as he looks to make an impact at shortstop for the rebuilding club.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as White Sox Rookie Sam Antonacci May Have Hit the Strangest First Career Home Run You'll Ever See.
