HOUSTON — In one corner sits a franchise that has won eight division titles, four American League pennants and two World Series championships over the last decade.
In the other corner is a franchise that lost a combined 324 games over the previous three seasons – and has not won a postseason series since capturing the 2005 World Series on the other’s home field.
At first blush, the AL wild-card series between the Houston Astros (81-81) and Chicago White Sox (84-78) pits teams at opposite ends of the competitive spectrum.
The AL West champion Astros, who will host the best-of-three series starting Tuesday, are loaded with accomplished veterans resilient enough to overcome a disappointing start that yielded a 20-31 record eight weeks into this season.
The upstart White Sox — the third AL wild-card team and the No. 6 seed — were in the throes of a protracted rebuild before suddenly arriving ahead of schedule.
They led the AL Central for most of the second half and didn’t cede the division title to the Cleveland Guardians until the next-to-last day of the season. Their first playoff appearance since losing to the Astros in the 2021 AL Division Series proves the value of talent, even the inexperienced kind.
“I think after the game (Sunday) we sat back just for a second and said, ‘Wow, you know, 84 wins is nothing to sneeze at,'” said White Sox manager Will Venable. “We’re certainly very proud of the fact that we were able to get 84 wins.
“Really throughout the year, we (have) sat back and been appreciative of what this group has continued to accomplish.”
Powering this postseason run were sluggers Munetaka Murakami (35 home runs), Miguel Vargas (33) and Colson Montgomery (31), each of whom bashed more than 30 home runs before their age-27 season. Of the White Sox’s top six players in bWAR, Vargas is the oldest at 26 years and 315 days.
“It feels great. It feels great where we are right now,” Vargas said. “I feel this is what we play for, and it was like a reconstruction year for us. The way we handled this year, I know a lot of guys don’t believe that we can make this change so fast and so soon.”
The Astros, the No. 3 seed in the AL playoffs, were eight games under .500 (27-35) and six games out of first place on June 2. A whopping 19 pitchers started at least one game for Houston this season as right-hander Peter Lambert, a reclamation project who spent last season pitching in Japan, wound up pacing the staff with 29 starts and 155 2/3 innings.
With everything that could go wrong going wrong, the Astros seemed destined for a second consecutive campaign outside of the postseason. But their one saving grace, primary AL Most Valuable Player candidate Yordan Alvarez, carried the club through the doldrums and back into the postseason while becoming just the sixth player in the expansion era (since 1961) to lead the majors in batting average (.316), on-base percentage (.432) and slugging percentage (.601).
The designated hitter joined a club that features George Brett (1980), Larry Walker (1999), Barry Bonds (2002), Miguel Cabrera (2013) and Aaron Judge (2025).
Alvarez finished with 42 homers, 105 runs, 106 RBIs and 109 walks over 158 games.
“If there was one word to describe the year, I would say it was special,” Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena said of Alvarez. “He was so consistent from the beginning to the end. He carried us. He carried our offense, and he’s one of the key reasons why we’re in the postseason right now.”
The path to the AL West title was strewn with obstacles. But the Astros’ perseverance was their guiding force and, when pushed to the limit, they mustered the gumption to succeed once again.
“I’ve been here for almost a decade, and just how this team just rallies around adversity — they don’t run from it. They actually run to it,” said Houston manager Joe Espada. “They know that it’s going to happen.
“And watching them choose not to fold, they choose to fight, they choose to help one another, is very satisfying. It brings joy to see these guys — you see their best version when things get tougher.”
Both managers will rely on their bullpens in Game 1. The Astros will start 26-year-old rookie right-hander AJ Blubaugh, who posted a 5-3 record and 3.66 ERA over 96 innings. He did not serve as an opener during the regular season.
The White Sox will start rookie left-hander Hagen Smith, the fifth overall pick in the 2024 MLB draft. Smith, 23, made his major league debut Aug. 9 and posted a 3-3 record and 1.29 ERA in 28 innings over 18 games.
In his lone start on Sept. 10 against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Smith allowed no runs and two hits with three strikeouts over two-plus innings.
–MK Bower, Field Level Media
