Toronto Star
· collected 2026-09-29 · by Kristie Rieken The Associated Press
Houston Astros and Chicago White Sox will face each other in a best-of-three AL Wild Card Series starting Tuesday in Houston, marking an unusual playoff matchup. The Astros reached the postseason with an 81-81 record, their worst ever for making the playoffs, while the White Sox turned around from losing over 100 games two seasons ago to clinch the final wild card spot at 84-78 under new manager Will Venable. Both teams will look to build on this improbable run as they begin their playoff journey.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-29,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
The Houston Astros and the Chicago White Sox, two unlikely playoff teams with remarkable turnaround stories, faced off in a best-of-three AL Wild Card Series starting on Tuesday in Houston. The Astros clinched their division title despite ending the regular season at exactly .500 (81-81), marking them as baseball’s first such division winner. In contrast, the White Sox overcame losing 100 games each of the last three seasons to secure a playoff spot.
In Game 1 on Tuesday, the White Sox took an early lead with four runs in the first inning and won 6-3 despite the Astros employing a bullpen game strategy led by AJ Blumbaugh. The announced attendance was sparse at 34,011, leading to fan frustration among the players who heard boos throughout the game.
The White Sox continued their strong performance on Wednesday, sweeping the series with a 7-3 victory in Game 2. This marked Chicago's first playoff series win since 2005 and advanced them to face the AL Central champion Cleveland Guardians in the Division Series starting Saturday in Cleveland.
Despite Houston’s playoff woes at home—dropping their ninth straight home playoff game—they expressed disappointment over fan support, with players like Bennett Sousa feeling that they needed more encouragement from their audience. Manager Will Venable of the White Sox praised his team for maintaining belief and achieving a historic turnaround to clinch this victory.
Written for “White Sox Playoff Run” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 16 other(s) covering the same event.
The Houston Astros are the first team to reach the postseason without a winning record.
asserted
Astros → reach → record
The Chicago White Sox are the only team in major league history to follow consecutive 100-loss seasons with a playoff berth.
asserted
Sox → follow → berth
Now these two improbable playoff teams will meet in a best-of-three AL Wild Card Series starting Tuesday in Houston.
asserted
teams → meet → Houston
The Astros are led by AL MVP favorite Yordan Alvarez, who won the AL batting title, ranked second with 106 RBIs and was tied for second with 42 homers.
asserted
who → lead → homers
Chicago features three 30-homer stars, led by Japanese rookie slugger Munetaka Murakami, who hit 35, Miguel Vargas with 33 and Colson Montgomery, who had 31.
asserted
who → feature → 31
The White Sox lost at least 100 games in each of the past three seasons, with the low point coming when they dropped 121 games in 2024, setting the record for most losses since 1900.
asserted
they → lose → 1900
Will Venable took over as manager before last season and Chicago went 60-102 in 2025 before this season’s huge turnaround to 84-78 that was enough to earn the final American League wild card.
asserted
that → take → card
“There was a moment (Sunday) after the game where we just paused for a second and said, hey, we understand we have the playoffs coming up, we understand this is all behind us as far as the regular season, but we’re proud of the fact that we were able to get 84 wins and all the progress that has really led to that,” Venable said Monday.
asserted
Venable → be → that
Though the Astros didn’t clinch their playoff berth until Sunday, going 81-81 to outlast Texas for the AL West title, their recent history is much different than that of the White Sox.
asserted
history → clinch → Sox
Houston fought through an injury-plagued season to reach the playoffs for the ninth time in 10 years after missing out last season.
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Houston → fight → years
It’s a remarkable stretch in which the Astros reached the American League Championship Series seven straight times from 2017-23 and advanced to the World Series four times, winning championships in 2017 and 2022.
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Astros → ’ → 2017
“I’ve been here for almost a decade and just how this team just rallies around adversity — they don’t run from it.
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they → rally → it
They actually run to it,” manager Joe Espada said.
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Espada → run → it
“They know that it’s going to happen.
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it → know → ?
And watching them choose not to fold, they choose to fight, they choose to help one another, is very satisfying.
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they → watch → one
It brings joy to see … their best version when things get tougher.”
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things → bring → version
Espada’s contract expires at season’s end and owner Jim Crane said Monday the team’s playoff berth will be “something to consider” when deciding on the skipper’s future.
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berth → expire → future
The White Sox return to the playoffs for the first time since 2021, when they were eliminated by the Astros in four games in their Division Series.
asserted
they → return → Series
Houston’s last trip to the postseason was a short one when the team was swept by the Detroit Tigers in a 2024 Wild Card Series.
asserted
team → sweep → Series
The Astros are hoping to make a lot more noise this time around.
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Astros → hop → noise
“Everyone starts from zero,” shortstop Jeremy Peña said.
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Peña → start → zero
“The records in the regular season, they don’t matter now.
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they → matter → season
Everyone’s starting from scratch, and it’s a short tournament.
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it → start → scratch
So, (let’s) see what happens.”
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what → let → ?
For starters
Both teams will go with a bullpen game in Tuesday’s series opener.
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teams → go → opener
The Astros will open with rookie AJ Blubaugh and the White Sox haden’t said who will open for them.
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who → open → them
“Depending on how some guys feel and as we are trying to match up availability with how these guys are feeling, we’ll map it out a little bit more with more certainty,” Venable said.
asserted
Venable → depend → certainty
“But you can expect more of a bullpen-type game from us.”
asserted
you → expect → us
Alvarez led the majors and set a franchise record with 33 intentional walks this season.
asserted
Alvarez → lead → walks
When teams first began issuing Alvarez free passes, Isaac Paredes, who bats behind him, felt it.
asserted
who → begin → it
“I felt like they were kind of disrespecting me as a hitter,” Paredes said in Spanish through a translator.
asserted
Paredes → feel → translator
“But I felt as the season went on, I stopped taking it personal because Yordan is truly the greatest hitter right now in baseball so there was no reason for me to take it as a lack of respect towards myself.”
asserted
me → feel → myself
Paredes fouled a ball off his knee Saturday and played Sunday despite being sore.
asserted
Paredes → foul → knee
But he said he was feeling great on Monday and doesn’t think it will affect him in Game 1.
asserted
it → say → Game
He ranks third on the team with 25 home runs, and his 94 RBIs are second.
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RBIs → rank → runs
Dream come true
asserted
Dream → come → ?
The 26-year-old Murakami signed a two-year, $34 million deal in December to join the White Sox after they paid a $6,575,000 posting fee to the Yakult Swallows.
asserted
they → sign → Swallows
He’s thrilled to be in the postseason during his first year in the majors after spending eight years playing in Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan.
asserted
He → ’ → Japan
“I’m here (in) the postseason. ...
asserted
I → ’m → postseason
I feel really excited,” he said in Japanese through a translator.
asserted
he → feel → translator
…and 1 more, not listed.
The Aporia
