White Sox pounce early, finish
sweep of Astros for first playoff series win since 2005
[October 01, 2026]
By KRISTIE RIEKEN
HOUSTON (AP) — From 100 losses to their first playoff series win in
two decades, these scrappy Chicago White Sox just keep outdoing
themselves.
The White Sox used a big first inning and a three-run homer from
Chase Meidroth to propel them to a 7-3 win over the Houston Astros
on Wednesday to sweep their AL Wild Card Series.
“I’m proud of the guys and certainly happy for them as they’re
probably the only ones in this country that believed that they could
be in this spot," manager Will Venable said. “And they maintained
that belief in the beginning of the season and went throughout the
season maintaining that, and they made it happen. So it’s awesome to
get to this point.”
It's the first time Chicago has won a playoff series since beating
Houston in the World Series in 2005. Under the direction of Venable,
the second-year skipper, and with a letter of support from Pope Leo
XIV, the White Sox advanced to face AL Central champion Cleveland in
the AL Division Series beginning Saturday in Cleveland.
“It means everything for our fans,” Meidroth said. “They have been
incredible all year. So the main thing was getting back to Chicago
for some postseason baseball, and so we’re really blessed that we
get to do that.”
The White Sox, who lost 100 games in each of the last three seasons,
are the only team in major league history to follow consecutive
100-loss seasons with a playoff berth.
The AL West-winning Astros went 81-81 to become the first team to
reach the postseason without a winning record. Their recent playoff
woes in Houston continued Wednesday as they dropped their ninth
straight home playoff game in a ninth trip to the postseason in the
last 10 years.
Chicago pounced on the Astros for four runs in the first inning a
day after scoring three in the first two innings of a 6-3 win.
Houston ace Hunter Brown was lifted after getting just two outs and
wasn’t helped by a sloppy defense which committed two first-inning
errors.
He was 6-0 with a 2.39 ERA in six career starts against the White
Sox before Wednesday’s debacle.
The Astros clawed their way back into it with solo home runs from
Jeremy Peña, Cam Smith and Jose Altuve to trail by 1 entering the
sixth inning.
AJ Blubaugh, who opened Game 1, and Peter Lambert, pitching on two
days’ rest, combined to retire the next 13 batters after Brown
exited. Chicago’s next baserunner came when Lambert walked Andrew
Benintendi to start the sixth and then walked Tristan Peters.
[to top of second column] |
Chicago White Sox's Brenton Doyle celebrates after winning
baseball's American League Wild Card Series against the Houston
Astros, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen
Warren)
Bryan Abreu came in, and Meidroth smashed his fifth
pitch off the wall in left field to push the lead to 7-3. He yelled
on his entire trip around the bases to the delight of a patch of
White Sox fans seated near the visitor’s dugout.
“I was looking for something middle up,” Meidroth
said. “He’s had my number all year, really good fastball, so I got
something middle up and I was able to cash in for the team. So,
yeah, that was awesome.”
Houston faced boos for a second game in a row from an unusually thin
crowd. It’s a second straight playoff trip where the Astros have
been swept at home in the wild card after losing both games to
Detroit in 2024.
Now they’ll face an uncertain future with manager Joe Espada’s
contract set to expire at season’s end after general manager Dana
Brown was fired last month.
“We fought back and we set our goal to win this division and we
accomplished that,” Espada said. “We wanted to play deep in October.
We came short on that. But just the way our guys stayed together and
were able to get this far, extremely proud of our team.”
It was a disappointing series for Houston slugger and AL
MVP-favorite Yordan Alvarez, who managed only a single with two
strikeouts in eight at-bats in the series.
Altuve’s shot to the seats in left field in the fourth inning got
the Astros within 4-3. It was the 28th postseason homer of his
career, which is second in MLB history behind Manny Ramirez (29).
“We’re all sad,” Altuve said. “We wanted to go to the World Series
and win it. But today is sorrow for the final day of the season."
The Astros had a shot to take the lead before Meidroth’s homer. They
loaded the bases with two outs in the fifth, but Anthony Kay retired
Altuve on a fly out to end the inning.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved
 |
