Colson Montgomery gave the White Sox a jolt, Sam Antonacci kept the pressure on, and Chicago walked out of Houston with a 6-3 win over the Astros in Game 1 of their AL wild-card series Tuesday.
That was the headline. The bigger story was the team wearing those uniforms.
Chicago, back in the postseason for the first time since 2021, pulled off a stunning rise to become the only club in major-league history to go from consecutive 100-loss seasons to a playoff berth. The White Sox had dropped 100 games three straight years, and their 121 losses in 2024 stood as the most since 1899. Now they’ve got a playoff win to go with the comeback.
They also got a boost before first pitch from an unexpected source: a letter of support from Pope Leo XIV, a Chicago native. Then they went out and looked very much like a team that believed it belonged there, jumping ahead 3-0 after two innings and never letting Houston fully back in.
Montgomery, who was dropped to ninth in the order by manager Will Venable on Tuesday, answered with a 432-foot homer to straightaway center field in the fourth. It was his 31st home run of the regular season, but it came in a season that also saw him set the single-season record with 227 strikeouts.
Antonacci had already helped Chicago build the early cushion with a two-run single in the second after Bryan King plunked Montgomery to load the bases with no outs. The White Sox had opened the scoring in the first on a sacrifice fly by Murakami after Houston starter AJ Blubaugh issued two walks and Christian Walker’s error left runners on first and third with one out.
Chicago kept adding on. Chase Meidroth delivered a bases-loaded RBI single in the fifth to make it 5-0.
Houston finally answered with a two-run homer from pinch-hitter Nelson Velázquez in the bottom of the fifth, trimming the margin to 5-2. Then, with the Astros down to their last outs, Jeremy Peña and MVP-favorite Yordan Alvarez singled in the eighth to put runners on first and third with two outs. Jose Altuve reached, Peña scored on a Miguel Vargas error, and Houston cut it to 6-3.
That was as close as the Astros would get.
Chicago’s bullpen-game approach held up across a long night that used 13 pitchers between the teams. Rookie left-hander Hagen Smith started for the White Sox and worked three scoreless innings, allowing two hits. Houston also went with an opener, and AJ Blubaugh gave up two walks before the early trouble snowballed.
The atmosphere never really turned in Houston’s favor. The announced crowd was 34,011 in a park built for 40,963, and the home fans booed when the Astros fell behind early.
For Houston, the loss extended a painful run at home in October. The Astros, who finished 81-81 and became the first team to make the postseason without a winning record, have now dropped eight straight home playoff games in their ninth trip to the postseason in the last 10 years.
Game 2 of the best-of-three series is Wednesday in Houston.
In Other News...
White Sox Taking A Game 1 Gamble Against Houston
The White Sox are leaning into a playoff wrinkle right away, opening their Wild Card Series against the Astros with a bullpen day and rookie Hagen Smith as the listed starter. It is the kind of call that says plenty about where the staff is right now: Chicago is not trying to force a traditional Game 1 look so much as it is trying to maximize the arms it has available and keep Houston from settling in early.
Manager Will Venable and general manager Chris Getz have both framed the plan as one built on flexibility, with multiple pitchers expected to work in short bursts rather than hand the ball to a starter and a bulk reliever in the usual order. The approach puts a premium on matchups and versatility, and it also sets up an early postseason test of just how far the White Sox are willing to push that style when every inning carries extra weight. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Wild Card Hopes May Hinge On One Astros Problem
The White Sox are heading into the wild-card round with a familiar problem in front of them, one that has already shown up over seven regular-season meetings with Houston. The Astros took five of those games, and the matchup now brings together a Chicago club trying to find enough offense around Chase Meidroth, Munetaka Murakami and Sean Burke against a Houston group built around Jeremy Pena and Hunter Brown.
Chicagos path is made trickier by the fact that both staffs arrive with questions, but the Astros have the kind of lineup depth that can make those issues easier to survive in October. Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez bring postseason experience that could tilt a short series, which leaves the White Sox needing their own answer to one glaring Astros advantage if they want the upset to feel realistic. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Wild Card Roster Hints At A Bold Astros Plan
The White Sox have put together a Wild Card roster that says plenty about how they intend to attack the Astros, even before a first pitch is thrown. Chicagos official group leans heavily on pitching depth, with seven right-handers, five left-handers, two catchers, five infielders and seven outfielders, a structure that points to a lot of matchup management once the series begins.
Hagen Smith is set to open Game 1 in what is expected to be a bullpen game, which already gives the opener a different feel than a standard postseason start. Anthony Kay is also on the roster after recent pitching work, a detail that suggests the White Sox may be keeping another option available on short rest as they try to piece together outs against Houston. [Read more 🡒]