White Sox hit 4 homers to cruise past the Rays 6-1

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Miguel Vargas, Andrew Benintendi, Munetaka Murakami and Colson Montgomery homered and the Chicago White Sox beat the American League-leading Tampa Bay Rays 6-1 on Friday night.

Vargas, Murakami and Montgomery have all homered in the same game five times this season, becoming the first trio to accomplish that feat since Cody Bellinger, Corey Seager and Joc Pederson for the Dodgers in 2019.

Vargas opened the scoring in the first inning with the longest home run of his career at 433 feet, and Benintendi made it 2-0 in the second.

Murakami tied Kazuma Okamoto for the Japanese rookie home run record with his 24th in the third, and Montgomery gave the AL Central-leading White Sox a 6-1 lead in the sixth with a two-run shot over the Tropicana Field wall.

Murakami has the 24 home runs and a .381 on-base-percentage in 74 career games. The only player in MLB history to reach those marks or better through that same stretch is Yordan Alvarez.

Erick Fedde (6-6) threw five innings, striking out six and giving up one run on four hits for Chicago. Alex Cook and Chris Roycroft gave up one hit combined in the final three innings.

Junior Caminero plated the Rays' only run in the fourth with his team-leading 30th homer. He is the first Rays hitter with back-to-back 30-homer seasons since Carlos Peña from 2007-09.

Nick Martinez (10-3) surrendered all six runs in six innings. Prior to tonight, Martinez had given up more than three runs in a game just once this season. He also allowed four homers for the first time in his career.

Rays RHP Drew Rasmussen (9-5, 3.07 ERA) was set to face White Sox LHP Noah Schultz (3-7, 6.15) on Saturday.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Alex Cook throws during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Friday, July 31, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

Chicago White Sox pitcher Erick Fedde throws during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Friday, July 31, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

Tampa Bay Rays's Chandler Simpson (14) steals second as the throw gets away from Chicago White Sox shortstop Colson Montgomery (12) during the fourth inning of a baseball game Friday, July 31, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

Chicago White Sox's Colson Montgomery celebrates after his home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Friday, July 31, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A judge in Colorado and a Nashville chancellor issued rulings Friday that will give 30 basketball players a fifth season of eligibility and prevent the NCAA from keeping them out of the transfer portal.

I’Ashea Myles of the Davidson County Chancery Court issued a temporary injunction to Jalen Washington and 18 other players to retain their eligibility.

“Defendant shall recognize Plaintiffs as eligible for the 2026–2027 basketball season and shall not deny or impede their recruitment, transfer, or certification on the basis of the challenged eligibility determination,” Myles wrote in her 33-page ruling.

A few hours later, U.S. District Court Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney in Colorado granted a preliminary injunction giving student-athletes from the high school Class of 2022 another year of eligibility for the upcoming school year. Former Minnesota basketball player Cade Tyson was among the 12 athletes named in the Colorado case.

Sweeney ruled that the injunction should cover the entire class of 2022 high school graduates facing similar circumstances.

Myles, who heard motion arguments July 22, also ordered that the transfer portal open at noon Monday until 8 a.m. on Aug. 10 for any player wanting to enter and schools wanting to reach out.

The NCAA referred The Associated Press to a statement from President Charlie Baker on X on proposed legislation to regulate college sports. Baker called the “chaos” from Friday's rulings are why it's “long past time” leaders in college sports call for the immediate passage of the Protect College Sports Act.

“Failed professionals will continue to use college sports as a fallback option — robbing the next class of young athletes of college scholarships," Baker said.

On June 23, the NCAA approved a new eligibility model for Division I athletes that will allow five seasons of competition over a five-year period that begins with their full-time enrollment or the academic year following their 19th birthday, whichever occurs first.

Washington, who played last season at Vanderbilt, was the lead plaintiff in the complaint filed July 6 by the Texas Trial Group seeking the injunction. Others include Chendall Weaver, last at Texas; A.J. Storr, Mississippi; Jason Edwards, Providence; Daniel Egbuniwe, St. Bonaventure; and Zachary Davis, Memphis.

“Justice,” the Texas Trial Group posted on social media with a screengrab of the order.

Myles wrote in her 33-page ruling granting the injunction that “the NCAA has not applied the challenged eligibility rules uniformly among similarly situated student-athletes" with a pattern of extending years of eligibility to “certain groups of players.”

She noted a waiver for the 2025-26 season for those who played at least one season at a junior college or NAIA school, and Myles wrote each plaintiff played against students who got waivers to play additional seasons or attended junior colleges.

The chancellor's order also enjoined the NCAA from enforcing its rule of restitution against the athletes and colleges they play for this season.

AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

FILE - Vanderbilt forward Jalen Washington (13) shoots the ball past Arkansas forward Malique Ewin, right, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the final of the Southeastern Conference tournament March 15, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)