Toronto Star
· collected 2026-10-01 · by Kristie Rieken The Associated Press
The Chicago White Sox secured their first playoff series win since 2005 by sweeping the Houston Astros in the American League Wild Card Series with a 7-3 victory on Wednesday. The decisive run came early as the White Sox scored four runs in the first inning, including a crucial three-run homer from Chase Meidroth in the sixth inning. This series win marks an impressive turnaround for Chicago, who were 100-loss teams each of the last three seasons and now become the only team to follow consecutive 100-loss campaigns with a playoff appearance. The Astros, meanwhile, suffered their ninth straight home playoff loss, continuing their postseason struggles despite reaching the playoffs this year without a winning record.
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.
HOUSTON (AP) — From 100 losses to their first playoff series win in two decades, these scrappy Chicago White Sox just keep outdoing themselves.
asserted
Sox → keep → 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.
asserted
Sox → use → 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.
uncertain
Venable → ’m → spot
“And they maintained that belief in the beginning of the season and went throughout the season maintaining that, and they made it happen.
asserted
it → maintain → that
So it’s awesome to get to this point.”
asserted
it → ’ → point
It’s the first time Chicago has won a playoff series since beating Houston in the World Series in 2005.
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Chicago → ’ → 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.
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Sox → advance → Cleveland
“It means everything for our fans,” Meidroth said.
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Meidroth → mean → fans
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.”
asserted
we → get → 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.
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.
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Chicago → pounce → 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.
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which → 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 1 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.
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Brown → open → batters
Chicago’s next baserunner came when Lambert walked Andrew Benintendi to start the sixth and then walked Tristan Peters.
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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 on his entire trip around the bases to the delight of a patch of White Sox fans seated near the visitor’s dugout.
asserted
He → yell → dugout
“I was looking for something middle up,” Meidroth said.
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Meidroth → look → something
“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.
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I → have → team
Houston faced boos for a second game in a row from an unusually thin crowd.
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Houston → face → 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.
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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.
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Brown → face → end
“We fought back and we set our goal to win this division and we accomplished that,” Espada said.
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Espada → fight → that
“We wanted to play deep in October.
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We → want → October
We came short on that.
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We → come → that
But just the way our guys stayed together and were able to get this far, extremely proud of our team.”
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guys → stay → 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.
asserted
who → manage → series
Altuve’s shot to the seats in left field in the fourth inning got the Astros within 4-3.
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shot → get → 4
“We’re all sad,” Altuve said.
asserted
Altuve → ’re → ?
“We wanted to go to the World Series and win it.
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We → want → it
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 fly out to end the inning.
asserted
Kay → load → inning
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