Hagen Smith gave the White Sox three clean innings out of the bullpen game, and Chicago carried that steady start to a 6-3 Game 1 win over the Astros on Tuesday at Daikin Park. Sam Antonacci stumbled while running out for the pregame introductions, but the visitors made few mistakes after that in taking the opening game of the American League Wild Card Series.
The result
The White Sox are one victory from their first postseason series win since they swept Houston in the 2005 World Series. They can finish this best-of-three set on Wednesday or, if needed, Thursday. The winner advances to Cleveland for a best-of-five American League Division Series.
Cleveland edged Chicago by one game for the AL Central crown, though the White Sox won the regular-season matchup between the clubs, 7-6.
Both teams entered Tuesday planning around their pitching staffs. Chicago elected to use a bullpen game, while Houston was short on available starters after relying on its regular rotation in the division-clinching push against Oakland that kept the Astros ahead of Texas.
Smith, the rookie left-hander, made Chicago’s approach work. He allowed two hits across three scoreless frames, struck out one and generated seven misses with a four-pitch mix. His most important out came with two down in the third, when he retired Yordan Alvarez with a runner at third.
Alvarez, the leading AL MVP candidate, has gone 4-for-23 against Chicago this season, with only one extra-base hit.
Houston opener AJ Blubaugh never found a consistent strike zone, throwing 13 strikes among 27 pitches. The Astros needed a second pitcher before the first inning was complete, though Chicago’s first run was unearned.
Colson Montgomery supplied the biggest swing in the fourth, driving a Miguel Ullola pitch an estimated 432 feet for a home run. Montgomery was batting ninth for the first time this year, two days after saying he intended to treat the postseason as a fresh start following a record-setting regular season in which he struck out 227 times.
“The spot doesn’t matter to me,” Montgomery said before the game. “I just want to be in the lineup.”
Braden Montgomery had two hits and scored a run, while Chase Meidroth also collected two hits and crossed the plate. Antonacci scored Chicago’s first run, later brought home two more with a single and was hit by a pitch in the sixth. He established the club’s single-season record by being hit 27 times in 2026.
After Smith departed, four White Sox relievers handled the remaining work. Sean Newcomb surrendered a two-run pinch-hit homer to Nelson Velázquez in the fifth. David Sandlin covered 1 1/3 innings before Grant Taylor took over.
The rotation next
Staff ace Sean Burke is lined up for Chicago in Game 2 on Wednesday. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET, 4 p.m. CT, with Peacock and NBCSN carrying the game.
