Andrew Vaughn Goes Deep Twice as White Sox Begin Climb Out of Deep Hole

The former Cal star is batting .346 over the past seven games after hitting .183 to start the season.

Andrew Vaughn watches his 3-run homer against Washington. / Photo by Matt Marton, USA Today

Andrew Vaughn and the Chicago White Sox appear to be finding their stride.

Vaughn, the fourth-year major leaguer from Cal, enjoyed his best game of the season on Tuesday night in the second game of a doubleheader, hitting a pair of home runs and driving in all four in a 4-0 win over the Washington Nationals.

Vaughn is batting .346 the past seven games after hitting just .183 over the season’s first 34 games.

‘‘Just went back to my roots and tried to simplify everything,’’ Vaughn said. ‘‘Stay up the middle and try to hit the ball hard,” Vaughn told the Chicago Sun Times.

The White Sox suffered through an historically grim start to the season, winning just three of their first 25 games. But Chicago has won 10 of 18 since after splitting two games against the Nationals.

Vaughn hit a career-high 21 home runs a year ago, didn’t go deep through the first 34 games until hitting his first of the season May 8 against Tampa Bay. That triggered a seven-game stretch in which he has gone 9 for 26 with three doubles, three homers and six RBIs.

"I was hitting the ball hard," Vaughn told Reuters. "I had to make some adjustments, but in time, good things come.”

Asked about two of his three home runs going to the opposite field, Vaughn said that’s consistent with how he’s approached hitting his entire life.

"My whole childhood, I've been a middle or other way kind of guy. Not really a pull guy,” he said. “I feel like that keeps me on my best swing."

The White Sox close out their home series Wednesday afternoon against Washington.