White Sox 6, Astros 3: a historic rebuild wins its first October game
Two years after a 121-loss season, Chicago walked into Daikin Park and took Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series behind a four-run cushion the Astros never seriously threatened.
No team had ever followed back-to-back 100-loss seasons with a playoff berth — until these White Sox. On Tuesday they went a step further, beating the Houston Astros 6-3 in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series in front of 34,011 at Daikin Park, their first postseason game since 2021.
How it happened
Chicago led from the first inning, when Munetaka Murakami's sacrifice fly cashed in an error by Houston first baseman Christian Walker. The decisive blow came an inning later: after starter AJ Blubaugh walked three and recorded just two outs, Sam Antonacci lined a two-run single to left for a 3-0 lead, according to CBS Sports' recap. Colson Montgomery stretched it to 4-0 in the fourth with a 432-foot solo homer to center.
Houston's only real answer was Nelson Velázquez's two-run homer in the fifth. A wild pitch gave Chicago a sixth run in the seventh, and an eighth-inning error let Jeremy Peña score the Astros' third.
On the mound, rookie Hagen Smith opened with three scoreless innings for Chicago, and Jordan Hicks earned the win in relief. Blubaugh took the loss.
Why it matters
The context is the story. Chicago lost an MLB-record 121 games in 2024; per CBS Sports, they are the only team in MLB history to reach the playoffs immediately after consecutive 100-loss seasons. "A bunch of young guys that haven't been in this situation before, they didn't back down at all," manager Will Venable said afterward.
Houston, meanwhile, won the AL West at 81-81 — the first playoff team without a winning record — and the defeat ran its home postseason losing streak to eight games. "We know it's do or die," manager Joe Espada said before Game 2.
It was. Chicago finished the sweep 7-3 on Wednesday, sealing the franchise's first postseason series win since the 2005 championship run and setting up an all-AL Central Division Series against the Guardians.