Chicago’s long wait is over. The White Sox are moving on after beating the Astros 7-3 on Wednesday, claiming their first playoff series since the 2005 World Series against Houston. For a fan base that has lived through plenty of frustration, this one landed hard.
The game turned in the sixth inning, and it turned fast. Chicago entered that frame without a hit since the first inning, when it put up four runs. Houston had already chipped away with three solo homers, and the momentum felt tilted the Astros’ way.
Then the White Sox stirred the whole thing back to life. Andrew Benintendi opened the inning with a walk and was replaced by Luisangel Acuña as a pinch runner.
Tristan Peters followed with another walk, putting runners on first and second with nobody out. Acuña then stole second, and he and Peters pulled off a double steal of second and third, a sequence that seemed to unsettle reliever Bryan Abreu.
On the next pitch, Abreu left a slider over the plate, and Chase Meidroth crushed it for a three-run homer. Meidroth knew it as soon as the ball left the bat, and the blast stretched Chicago’s lead to 7-3.
That swing did more than add insurance. It flipped the tone of the game and, in the bigger picture, the series.
Chicago’s pitching did enough to back it up. After a bullpen game Tuesday that limited a Houston lineup led by presumptive AL MVP Yordan Alvarez to three runs, the White Sox held the Astros to three again on Wednesday.
Sean Burke wasn’t sharp, but he managed the damage, allowing three runs on three solo home runs over four innings before manager Will Venable made an aggressive call to go to the bullpen. The move paid off.
Chicago’s relievers allowed just one hit over the final five innings.
The White Sox also delivered at the plate when it mattered, and that has been a major issue all season. Entering Wednesday, they were hitting just .243 with runners in scoring position in 2026, and too many chances had come and gone with runners aboard and one or two outs.
In this series, though, they finally cashed in. Chicago went 4-for-9 with runners in scoring position Wednesday and 4-for-11 Tuesday, and that was enough to carry them through.
Now the White Sox head to Cleveland to face the Guardians on Saturday in the ALDS, trying to keep alive what looked impossible before the season began.
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