TORONTO — Sean Burke had it all working on an immaculate Sunday afternoon north of the border, surrendering just two hits in the White Sox’ 3-0 victory over the Blue Jays.
The tall right-hander carried over his strong month before the All-Star break with 6 ⅔ efficient innings and five strikeouts to help the Sox start the second half with a series win on the road, where an up-and-coming squad has struggled in their surprising run to contention. The Guardians’ loss put the Sox a game ahead in the American League Central.
Burke’s latest impressive effort came on the heels of Saturday’s tough-luck loss for Davis Martin, who suddenly has a new challenger for the title of staff ace.
“We have a little friendly competition going back and forth with each other, but obviously, too, we help each other out,” said Burke, whose sixth-inning walk was the first free pass he’d given up in 19 1/3 innings.
“[We’re] both right-handed, probably going to see similar lineups each time out the same team,” Burke said, crediting Martin for the scouting report. “Just going over what he thought worked and what he thinks I can get away with… Being able to bounce ideas off him is good.”
The Jays didn’t get a hit off Burke until the fourth inning, one of two weak singles they mustered. The Sox couldn’t find any offense either against Trey Yesavage until Colson Montgomery scratched out an infield single in the top of the fourth inning after a walk to Miguel Vargas, who came home on Andrew Benintendi’s sacrifice fly.
Montgomery later smacked his team-leading 24th home run of the season, and the Sox got an RBI single from Braden Montgomery, who made a sliding catch in the ninth inning with the Jays threatening, helping Grant Taylor lock down his fifth save.
“Sean, the way he’s been pitching, we know we’re going to get his best every single day,” Colson Montgomery said. “He’s a dog… I just think he’s elevated his game for sure.”
Colson Montgomery goes deep! pic.twitter.com/rEuUrBtC7V
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) July 19, 2026
Burke’s effort marked his sixth straight solid outing since mid-June, which manager Will Venable attributed to “just being aggressive with the fastball.”
“You can feel it when he’s doing it,” Venable said. “His confidence in it just kind of radiates from him… It really starts with fastball command and feeling good that he can beat guys with it.”
Burke beat plenty of Jays with it to lower his ERA on the season to 3.20 and edging below Martin, who sits at 3.31 after sailing through 5 ⅔ innings but losing his 1-0 duel with Shane Bieber.
Martin and Burke are constantly looking to outdo one another at the top of a tight-knit rotation that has proven remarkably durable after hitting stumbling blocks at the beginning of the season.
Martin said he never felt like a big-leaguer until he made it all the way from Opening Day through the end of last season. Even that first full campaign in 2025 came with a stint on the injured list, an obstacle Martin and most other Sox starters so far have managed to avoid.
“It’s huge,” Martin said. “The goal at the beginning of the year was to qualify with innings, throw 162 and make every start. That’s been Sean and I’s goal and we’ve been bouncing back and forth off each other, making sure we’re doing everything we need to do recovery-wise, workout-wise, constantly staying on each other.
“It’s been fun to push each other a little bit,” he added. “We’ve all done a really good job staying healthy and continuing to press forward.”
Like most general managers, Chris Getz is looking to bolster pitching depth before the Aug. 3 trade deadline. Armchair executives have been quick to zero in on Angels starter Reid Detmers, but the Sox are liking what they’ve got for now.
“Every club is challenged with their starting pitching depth, and that’s something that we’ve been really lucky with,” Venable said. “We’ve had little spots here and there where maybe we’ve had to give guys extra rest, and we’ve been mindful of that, but to a man, these guys have been really healthy, which is great.”
On deck
SOX AT RANGERS
Monday: Erick Fedde (5-6, 4.15 ERA) vs. Jacob deGrom (7-5, 3.49), 7:05 p.m., CHSN, 1000-AM.
Tuesday: Noah Schultz (3-6, 5.60) vs. TBA, 7:05 p.m., CHSN, 1000-AM.
Wednesday: Anthony Kay (6-4, 4.24) vs. TBA, 7:05 p.m., CHSN, 1000-AM.
