The Chicago White Sox have won their first playoff series since 2005, sweeping the Houston Astros to end a multi-decade drought. The team completed a two-game sweep of the American League wild-card matchup in Houston with a 7-3 victory on Wednesday night. This marks the first time since the 2005 World Series that the White Sox have won a playoff series.
Chicago swept Houston in the AL Wild Card Series for its first postseason series victory since the 2005 World Series.
MLB.com reported that the victory advances them to face the Cleveland Guardians in the American League Division Series beginning Saturday at Progressive Field.
Early in Game 2 the White Sox scored four runs in the first inning to take a commanding lead. Sam Antonacci led off with a double that was just out of reach for Yordan Alvarez in left field. Kyle Teel followed with an RBI single to right field that brought Antonacci home.
Miguel Vargas reached on a fielding error by third baseman Nick Allen. Andrew Benintendi delivered an RBI single to center field that scored Teel. Lucas Spence’s throw to the plate bounced away from catcher Yainer Diaz and allowed Vargas to score for a 3-0 lead.
Tristan Peters then hit an RBI single to right field, giving the White Sox a 4-0 advantage after just one inning. Astros starter Hunter Brown was removed from the game after allowing four runs with three earned on five hits with two strikeouts and one walk in two-thirds of an inning.
The Astros quickly cut into the lead with home runs from Jeremy Peña and Cam Smith and Jose Altuve to trim the advantage to 4-3 after four innings. Each of those home runs came against White Sox starter Sean Burke. Burke gave up three earned runs on four hits with eight strikeouts and no walks over four innings.
The Astros put runners on first and second in the fifth inning against reliever Huascar Brazobán. Anthony Kay stepped in and got Yordan Alvarez to fly out to left field. Isaac Paredes walked next to load the bases with two outs.
Jose Altuve came up next but flied out to right field to end the threat.
The White Sox regained momentum after that defensive play and took control of the game. Chase Meidroth delivered a three-run home run in the sixth inning to extend the lead to 7-3. That play helped seal the team’s first playoff series win since the 2005 World Series.
The White Sox bullpen held strong in the later innings as Huascar Brazobán and Anthony Kay and Jordan Hicks and Erick Fedde combined for five shutout innings of relief. The team’s performance was especially impressive given its struggles in recent seasons. Chicago lost at least 101 games in each of the previous three seasons and set a modern-era MLB record with 121 losses in 2024.
Despite that difficult stretch the White Sox managed to secure their first playoff series victory since 2005. They finished the 2026 regular season 84-78 after going 60-102 in 2025.
The team’s turnaround has also drawn attention because Pope Leo XIV is a longtime White Sox fan who grew up on Chicago’s South Side. A letter from Leo dated September 9 arrived at Rate Field before Game 1 of the Wild Card Series and praised sports as a source of friendship and solidarity. The message invoked “the Almighty’s abundant blessings” upon White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf and his loved ones.
The timing of the letter led to lighthearted talk about papal help during Chicago’s playoff run. Pope Leo had also attended Game 1 of the 2005 World Series before becoming pope.
IMAGE: Source Chicago White Sox World Series Victories, U.S. Cellular Field, Chicago, Illinois Author Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA CC2