The Chicago White Sox will enter a pivotal series against the Cleveland Guardians in first place in the American League Central. 

The White Sox entered Sunday with a ½ game lead in the division. No matter the result of the White Sox game against the St. Louis Cardinals and the Guardians' result against the Minnesota Twins on Sunday, the South Siders will have a lead in the AL Central when the two teams meet for a three-game series on Monday. 

With such an important series upcoming, here are three players who must step up against the Guardians. 

Davis Martin is lined up to face the Guardians during this upcoming series. Martin has thrown the ball well since returning from the injured list in early September. He threw 5 ⅔ shutout innings against the Astros on September 2 and five innings of one-run ball against the Pirates on September 9. 

That version of Martin needs to show up when he takes the mound. Getting a good start out of the young right-hander will be massive for the White Sox's chances of winning whichever game he starts. He’s more than capable of supplying Chicago with a strong outing. 

This will be the third time that Martin has faced this Guardians team this season. He allowed two runs across 3 ⅓ innings against them back on July 2 and gave up two runs (one earned run) across one inning before a rain delay ended his start early on August 9.  

Munetaka Murakami is definitely reeling at the plate right now. The Japanese slugger is slashing just .107/.242/.190 with two home runs, one double, and seven RBI over his last 23 games since August 19. 

The White Sox are letting Murakami figure it out on the go amid this rough slump at the plate. Manager Will Venable continues to hit him toward the top of this lineup despite his recent offensive numbers. He batted fourth in Saturday’s win over the Cardinals. 

The White Sox hope Murakami can figure it out fast because he remains a key part of this offense. It’s games like these that the stars show up. He’s someone who needs to step up in this pivotal three-game series. 

Miguel Vargas has performed like an All-Star throughout the 2026 campaign. He’s slashing .247/.356/.471 with 30 home runs, 30 doubles, one triple, 79 RBI, and 18 stolen bases across 146 games this season.  

Well, what better way to show that you are an All-Star than by coming up in big spots during this series? 

Vargas has crushed left-handed pitching this season, with a .277/.396/.568 slash line and 12 home runs. The White Sox will face two southpaws during this series in Parker Messick and Foster Griffin. The All-Star third baseman has to put the offense on his back against two above-average lefty starters.