CHICAGO -- White Sox hitting coach Marcus Thames spoke of his desire for a struggling Andrew Benintendi to focus on being a good hitter and to not think about power just a few days ago, when the team was playing at Target Field.

Following an 8-7 walk-off victory over the Rays in 10 innings on Saturday night, Benintendi¡¯s teammates and a lively crowd of 28,009 at Guaranteed Rate Field were glad he didn¡¯t listen at least on this occasion. Benintendi homered twice, including his first career game-ending blast, giving the White Sox (5-22) their first two-game winning streak in the 2024 season and their first series win after an 0-7-1 start.

Benintendi¡¯s second homer came on a first-pitch sweeper from Phil Maton and covered a projected 401 feet with a 104.3 mph exit velocity, according to Statcast. With the way the wind was whipping, Benintendi wasn¡¯t certain of victory upon solid contact.

¡°Guess I caught a break with the wind that time,¡± said Benintendi, who produced his sixth career multihomer game and tied a career high with six RBIs. ¡°Just looking for something up in the zone, something to drive to the outfield. Put a good swing on it.¡±

¡°It looked like Benintendi went up there looking for a breaking ball, got a breaking ball,¡± Rays manager Kevin Cash said. ¡°You don't fault Phil for trying to get ahead of the guy, and he was ready for it and knocked it out of the ballpark.¡±

There were no home runs and only four RBIs on Benintendi¡¯s statistical ledger entering game No. 27. He had a slugging percentage of .191 with just two doubles representing his extra-base power.

Starting a season slowly is nothing new for Benintendi, a nine-year veteran. And while power is not his focus, the left-handed hitter knows what he¡¯s capable of in that particular capacity.

¡°I think it just starts with hard contact and swinging at good pitches,¡± Benintendi said. ¡°I¡¯ve hit the ball hard this year sometimes. It¡¯s just right at some people. Just trying to be an overall hitter and just drive the ball.¡±

¡°He¡¯s just letting it fly now, and he¡¯s letting his eyes do the work, which is, ¡®Wherever the ball is pitched, that¡¯s where I¡¯m going to try to hit it,¡¯¡± manager Pedro Grifol said. ¡°¡®And if they¡¯re pitching me in, I¡¯m going to try to pull.¡¯ He¡¯s hitting with bad intentions, and that¡¯s what makes him really good.¡±

The first Benintendi homer of the season and the contest came in the fourth, a three-run blast off Aaron Civale that helped the White Sox erase a 3-0 deficit in just five total pitches following singles from Eloy Jim¨¦nez and Andrew Vaughn. Chicago claimed a 6-4 lead through five, putting rookie right-hander Jonathan Cannon in line for his first career victory.

Cannon didn¡¯t have his best stuff, but he limited the damage to four runs on eight hits in five innings with five strikeouts. Randy Arozarena¡¯s two-run double in the sixth off Dominic Leone left Cannon with a no-decision, but it also set up the exciting finish.

¡°That was awesome,¡± said Cannon of the Benintendi-inspired victory. ¡°Fans packed it out tonight. Awesome crowd. It got loud. I'm happy we sent them home happy. Super clutch by Andrew."

¡°He gave us the pitches, and he gave us five innings,¡± Grifol said of Cannon. ¡°And these guys came in the bullpen and just really did a good job. It was a gutsy performance on the pitching side. It was really a gutsy performance all the way around.¡±

Tampa Bay (13-15) took the lead in the top of the 10th on Deivi Garc¨ªa¡¯s two-out wild pitch, but Benintendi delivered with one out and pinch-runner Rafael Ortega on third. In just two games, the White Sox topped their 2023 win total against the Rays, when they finished 1-6 and had to score seven in the ninth inning of the final contest to avoid an 0-7 showing.

Those Rays losses represented the debacle that was April 2023. These two wins could be sending the White Sox toward May on a high note, for a team looking for any hope after record-breaking failure to open the campaign.

¡°Yeah, I mean, it¡¯s been a slow start for us for sure,¡± Benintendi said. ¡°It¡¯s a long season and still five months of baseball. For us right now, it¡¯s a day at a time. You can¡¯t look too forward ahead when we are in the position we are. Show up every day and just play hard.¡±

¡°Everybody participated in this game, which is really, really important,¡± Grifol said. ¡°If there¡¯s ever an indication of a team win, this is it, right here.¡±