White Sox complete sweep for 1st playoff series win since 2005 -- and face Guardians next

LaMond Pope, Chicago Tribune on Sep 30, 2026

Published in Baseball

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HOUSTON — The Chicago White Sox lead, which at one time stood at four runs, was down to one in the fifth inning of Game 2 of the American League wild-card series against the Houston Astros.

The Sox made a pitching change, calling on Anthony Kay with two on, one out and the dangerous Yordan Alvarez coming up.

Kay got Alvarez to line out to left field. But the threat wasn’t over.

A walk to Isaac Paredes loaded the bases for Jose Altuve, who had homered earlier in the game. Altuve lined out to right field.

Momentum swung back toward the Sox. And Chase Meidroth made sure it stayed that way, hitting a three-run home run in the sixth to help propel the Sox to a 7-3 victory Wednesday in front of 36,015 at Daikin Park.

The Sox completed a 2-0 sweep of the wild-card matchup to advance to the American League Division Series, in which they’ll play the Cleveland Guardians. That best-of-five series begins Saturday at Progressive Field.

Early on Wednesday, it was all Sox as they scored four runs in the first inning.

Sam Antonacci hit a liner just out of the reach of Alvarez in left field for a leadoff double. Antonacci scored on the next pitch when Kyle Teel singled sharply to right.

Miguel Vargas then reached on a fielding error by third baseman Nick Allen.

Munetaka Murakami struck out, but Andrew Benintendi came through with an RBI single to center field. A second run scored on the play when Lucas Spence’s throw to the plate bounced away from catcher Yainer Diaz, giving the Sox a 3-0 lead.

Benintendi then scored on Tristan Peters’ RBI single to right field, making it 4-0.

The Sox knocked Astros starter Hunter Brown out of the game. The right-hander allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits with two strikeouts and one walk in two-thirds of an inning.

The Astros knocked one run off the deficit quickly on a Jeremy Peña home run leading off the bottom of the first. Cam Smith homered with two outs in the second, cutting the Sox lead to 4-2.

Altuve led off the fourth inning with a home run, pulling the Astros within 4-3.

Each of those home runs came against Sox starter Sean Burke. The right-hander allowed the three runs on four hits with five strikeouts and no walks in four innings.

The Sox escaped the trouble in the fifth with Kay getting out of the jam after the Astros placed two on against Huascar Brazobán.

While the Astros inched closer, the Sox went cold at the plate. They didn’t have a base runner in the second, third, fourth or fifth innings.

That streak ended when Benintendi walked leading off the sixth against Peter Lambert. Peters also walked, and Bryan Abreu replaced Lambert. Meidroth greeted him with the three-run home run to left field, giving the Sox a 7-3 lead.

It was just what the Sox needed to earn their first postseason series victory since winning the 2005 World Series.

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