White Sox sweep Astros for first playoff series win since 2005
Two years after a record 121-loss season, Chicago won 6-3 and 7-3 in Houston to reach the AL Division Series against Cleveland.
The Chicago White Sox swept the Houston Astros 2-0 in the American League Wild Card Series, their first playoff series win since 2005, per ESPN. Chicago won 6-3 on 29 September and 7-3 on 30 September, both games at Daikin Park in Houston, ESPN reported. The White Sox now face the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Division Series, with Game 1 scheduled for 3 October in Cleveland, per ESPN.
From 121 losses to the Division Series
The sweep caps a historic climb. The White Sox lost a modern-era record 121 games in 2024, per MLB.com, and they are the first team in Major League Baseball history to reach the postseason after consecutive 100-loss seasons, MLB.com reported. This season they finished 84-78, per MLB.com.
Manager Will Venable spoke to that gap after Game 2. "I'm proud of the guys and certainly happy for them as they're probably the only ones in this country that believed they could be in this spot," he said, per CBS Sports.
Game 1: White Sox 6, Astros 3
Houston chose a bullpen approach for the opener. AJ Blubaugh started as the opener and lasted two-thirds of an inning, walking three, per MLB.com.
Chicago's starter, Hagen Smith, pitched three scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out one, per ESPN. Colson Montgomery hit a 432-foot solo home run to center field in the fourth inning, ESPN reported; Montgomery hit 31 home runs in the regular season, per ESPN.
Late in the game Grant Taylor pitched 2 1/3 innings with five strikeouts, per MLB.com, including a strikeout of Yainer Diaz with runners on base in the eighth. Chicago closed out a 6-3 victory.
Game 2: White Sox 7, Astros 3
Houston's Game 2 starter, Hunter Brown, recorded two outs before leaving, allowing five hits and four runs, three of them earned, with two strikeouts, per ESPN.
Sean Burke started for Chicago and pitched four innings, allowing four hits and three earned runs while striking out eight, ESPN reported. In the sixth inning Chase Meidroth hit a three-run home run off reliever Bryan Abreu to extend the White Sox lead, per ESPN, and Chicago won 7-3 to finish the series.
| Game | Date | Score | White Sox starter | Astros starter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 29 September 2026 | White Sox 6, Astros 3 | Hagen Smith: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 K | AJ Blubaugh: 0.2 IP, 3 BB |
| 2 | 30 September 2026 | White Sox 7, Astros 3 | Sean Burke: 4 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 8 K | Hunter Brown: 0.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R (3 ER), 2 K |
The numbers behind the sweep
Across the two games the White Sox outscored Houston 13-6. In both games Houston's first pitcher failed to complete the first inning: Blubaugh and Brown together recorded four outs. Chicago's starters, Smith and Burke, covered seven innings between them and struck out nine.
Montgomery's fourth-inning shot in Game 1 and Meidroth's three-run homer in Game 2 accounted for four of Chicago's 13 runs in the series.
Next: Cleveland
The White Sox travel to Cleveland for Game 1 of the AL Division Series on 3 October, per ESPN.
The series against the Guardians is the next test for a club that went 84-78 this season, per MLB.com, after losing 121 games in 2024.