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The Chicago White Sox defeated the Houston Astros 7-3 on Wednesday, sweeping their AL Wild Card Series and ending a 21-year playoff drought since winning a series against the same opponent in the 2005 World Series. Chase Meidroth hit a decisive three-run homer to secure the victory for the White Sox, who are now advancing to face Cleveland in the AL Division Series starting Saturday despite having lost over 100 games each of the last three seasons. The Astros, meanwhile, suffered their ninth consecutive home playoff loss and are grappling with uncertainty following the recent firing of general manager Dana Brown and manager Joe Espada’s pending contract expiration.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-01,
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 Chicago 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 and sweep their AL Wild Card Series.
asserted
Sox → use → Series
It’s the first time Chicago has won a playoff series since beating Houston in the World Series in 2005.
asserted
Chicago → ’ → 2005
Under the direction of second-year skipper Will Venable 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.
asserted
Sox → advance → Cleveland
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.
asserted
who → lose → berth
The AL West-winning Astros went 81-81 to become the first team to reach the postseason without a winning record.
asserted
Astros → win → 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.
asserted
they → continue → 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.
asserted
Chicago → pounce → win
Houston ace Hunter Brown was lifted after getting just two outs and wasn’t helped by a sloppy defense that committed two first-inning errors.
asserted
that → lift → errors
The Astros clawed their way back into it with solo home runs from Jeremy Peña, Cam Smith and Jose Altuve to trail by one entering the sixth inning.
asserted
Astros → claw → 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.
asserted
Brown → open → batters
Chicago’s next baserunner came when Lambert walked Andrew Benintendi to start the sixth and then walked Tristan Peters.
asserted
Lambert → come → Peters
Bryan Abreu came in, and Meidroth smashed his fifth pitch off the wall in left field to push the lead to 7-3.
asserted
Meidroth → come → 7
He yelled throughout his trip around the bases to the delight of a patch of White Sox fans seated near the visitors’ dugout.
asserted
He → yell → dugout
Houston faced boos for a second game in a row from an unusually thin crowd.
asserted
Houston → face → crowd
It’s a second straight playoff trip in which the Astros have been swept at home in the wild-card round after losing both games to Detroit in 2024.
asserted
Astros → ’ → 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.
asserted
Brown → face → end
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.
asserted
who → manage → series
Altuve’s shot to the seats in left field in the fourth inning got the Astros within 4-3.
asserted
shot → get → 4
The Astros had a shot to take the lead before Meidroth’s homer.
asserted
Astros → have → homer
They loaded the bases with two outs in the fifth, but Anthony Kay retired Altuve on a flyout to end the inning.
asserted
Kay → load → inning
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