The White Sox arrived in Houston as one of baseball’s brightest surprises. They left Daikin Park with something sturdier than a good story: a postseason series win, a two-game Wild Card Series sweep of the Astros, and a ticket to Cleveland.
Chicago’s 7-3 victory Wednesday closed out its first playoff series triumph since 2005, when the club swept Houston in the World Series. This time, the stakes were the American League Wild Card Series, but the setting carried a familiar echo. The White Sox handled an Astros club short on regular manpower and showed that their climb from three consecutive 100-loss seasons was not simply a feel-good September run.
Chicago jumped on Hunter Brown again
- For the second straight game, the White Sox seized the first inning, aided by shaky Houston defense. Sam Antonacci opened the rally with a liner to left that Yordan Alvarez could not convert into an out.
- Kyle Teel brought Antonacci home with a single. Miguel Vargas then reached when third baseman Nick Allen misplayed a ball.
- Andrew Benintendi singled in another run, and Vargas scored when Lucas Spence made an errant throw toward the plate that got past catcher Yainer Diaz.
- Tristan Peters completed the four-run inning with an RBI single against Astros starter Hunter Brown.
It was a startling opening against Brown, who entered with a 6-0 career record and a 2.39 ERA in six starts against Chicago. The White Sox had quickly put their young club’s energy into a far more concrete advantage on the scoreboard.
Burke worked through Houston’s power
Houston did not go quietly. Jeremy Peña, Cam Smith and Jose Altuve each hit a solo homer off White Sox starter Sean Burke. Burke struck out eight over four innings, but the Astros had trimmed the margin and found a potential opening in the fifth.
- Anthony Kay took the mound for what amounted to his first meaningful relief outing of the season, with runners at first and second and one out.
- Alvarez came up and Kay fell behind 3-0. Alvarez watched a strike in the zone, then lifted the next pitch to Antonacci in left field.
- Isaac Paredes walked to fill the bases, bringing Altuve to the plate with the tying threat alive.
- Altuve flew out to right, ending Houston’s best chance to turn the game.
The White Sox responded in the sixth rather than letting the tension linger. Chase Meidroth drilled a long home run as Chicago put up three more runs, then celebrated with a pronounced yell that reflected a clubhouse recognizing what it had just finished.
Cleveland is next
The White Sox now move on to the American League Division Series against the Guardians, renewing a tight AL Central matchup. Chicago took the regular-season series, 7-6, while Cleveland claimed the division by one game and with it the home-field edge.
The Guardians will present a tougher rotation and Cade Smith, one of the game’s premier closers. But they will also be facing a White Sox club that controlled both Wild Card games and has begun to look increasingly comfortable under October pressure.
Game 1 of the ALDS is scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m. ET, noon Central, with TBS, truTV, UniMas and HBO Max carrying the broadcast.
