A young team coming off a recent spate of three 100-loss seasons with low expectations and an up-and-coming manager. Sound familiar? Rewind the clock a decade or so and you might be talking about the Houston Astros providing timely hitting, big homers, aggressive pitching and a lack of fear on the road.
But in 2026, we’re talking about the White Sox, who came into Daikan Park on Tuesday in game one of the AL Wild Card series and took it to the Astros 6-3 in a game that honestly never felt particularly close.
Both teams went with bullpen games having exhausted their rotation making the postseason. And it was Chicago’s crew bested the Astros who, as is a typical story for the season, walked too many and gave up big hits. The lone bright spot was Miguel Ullola, who was fantastic.
Looking at the roster for this team, you might think to yourself, who? Players like Josh Hendrickson and Lucas Spence, who just joined the team recently, wound up not just on the roster but contributing. The biggest hit of the night came from Nelson Velazquez. Meanwhile, the Astros top six hitters went 3-22 with two walks and three Ks.
AJ Blubaugh ultimately got the loss giving up one unearned run in two-thirds of an inning. Hendrickson, Bennett Sousa and Brian King gave up four of the remaining runs with Ullola’s lone mistake a towering home run off the batter’s eye in center field.
The White Sox felt like the more mature club on the field. Their pitch selection was great and patience even better. They clearly had the better pitching and made the plays when they needed to.
Now, after a very long, very weird 2026 season, the Astros are down to win or hit the winter break with another disappointing finish. With Hunter Brown on the mound, it certainly improves their chances on Wednesday, but this is a White Sox team that is clearly playing beyond their years.
Looks eerily familiar.
