White Sox Sweep Astros for First Playoff Series Win Since 2005
The Chicago White Sox have reached the American League Division Series, beating the Houston Astros 7-3 to complete a two-game sweep of their wild card series and claim their first playoff series win since the 2005 World Series.
The symmetry was not lost on anyone. That 2005 run also began with a sweep of the Astros completed in Houston.
Four in the First
Chicago took Astros ace Hunter Brown apart in the opening inning, scoring four runs against a pitcher who had come in 6-0 with a 2.39 ERA in six career starts against them. Brown was removed after 36 pitches to boos from the home crowd.
Houston worked their way back. Three solo home runs off Sean Burke, from Jeremy Pena, Jose Altuve and Cam Smith, cut the deficit to 4-3 by the fifth, and the Astros loaded the bases in that inning before stranding all three runners.
Chase Meidroth settled it in the sixth with a three-run homer. Jordan Hicks then struck out three across two perfect innings and Erick Fedde closed it out.
Manager Will Venable, in his second year and his first job at this level, said afterwards that his players had believed in themselves from the start.
A Turnaround Without Precedent
The context makes the result extraordinary. Chicago lost more than 100 games in each of the previous three seasons, including a modern record 121 in 2024. They improved by 24 wins this year to finish 84-78 and take the final wild card place.
No team in major league history had previously reached the postseason after three consecutive 100-loss seasons.
Their roster reflects shrewd work rather than spending. Miguel Vargas arrived from the Dodgers and developed into an All-Star, while Tristan Peters came from Tampa Bay for cash and produced 3.6 wins above replacement.
The club also received a letter of support from Pope Leo XIV, a Chicago native, before the series.
Houston's Early Exit
For the Astros the defeat continues a troubling pattern. They were swept at home by Detroit in the 2024 wild card round and have now gone out at the same stage again.
Houston reached the postseason with an 81-81 record, becoming the first team in a full season to qualify without a winning record, after taking the AL West on the final day ahead of Texas.
Yordan Alvarez, the likely AL MVP after winning the batting title at .316 with 42 home runs and 106 RBIs, could not prevent it.
Chicago now face the AL Central champion Cleveland Guardians, with the Division Series beginning on Saturday in Cleveland. It is their first ALDS appearance since 2021, when Houston knocked them out.
The bracket is not reseeded in the current format, which is why the sixth seed meets the second rather than the first. The New York Yankees, who swept Boston in the other American League series, face the top-seeded Tampa Bay Rays.
