Game Thread: White Sox at Astros, AL Wild Card Game 1

Just two years ago, the Chicago White Sox etched 121 losses in the record books to mark the worst MLB season in modern history. Fast forward through another turbulent season in 2025, and the South Siders suffered three straight 100-loss seasons, albeit with a more positive second half as several of the organization’s promising prospects began to make a difference while others worked on improving their approach. Many White Sox fans assumed it would be a moderately-improved season in 2026, knowing that the Good Guys had officially moved on from the failed 2021 roster, and pretty much every baseball journalist and projection model expected the same.

The South Side clubhouse was aware that no one was expecting them to make any noise this year with so many prospects breaking into the big leagues, and after a rough April it another season in the second division might be the case. But with 36 comeback wins and 11 walk-offs, Chicago showcased the elite talent that was cooking up at 35th and Shields, along with a resilience that never counted them out. The White Sox were seven games worse than .500 in mid-April, and at their best were nine games better in late August, spending a total of 96 days atop of the AL Central. Despite ultimately earning a Wild Card spot rather than a division title, the White Sox still made history with their 84 wins by qualifying for the playoffs after three consecutive 100-loss seasons.

As the South Siders head to Houston for a three-game Wild Card series against the AL West champion Houston Astros, looking for revenge from their 2021 ALDS defeat. With the MLB postseason comes playoff rosters, and the White Sox released theirs earlier today, announcing that they will be carrying 12 pitchers, two catchers, five infielders, and seven outfielders. The two most notable players who did not make the roster were righthander Trevor Richards, and catcher Drew Romo, who both spent a significant time on the South Side this season and were key contributors. Jake Rogers will slot in as the backup catcher behind Kyle Teel, and as one of the bigger surprises, Tommy Pham will be joining Chicago rather than adding a 13th pitcher.

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Today’s game will be the first time in postseason history that both teams will be leveraging an opener to start the game, likely sending baseball traditionalists — and many White Sox fans — into a tailspin. Chicago has used an opener 31 times this season, and in their defense, it has gotten them this far. Is there still concern that the pitching depth might not be enough to make a deep playoff run? Sure there is. But we are working with what we got, because GM Chris Getz chose not to spend on another starter at the trade deadline, and the starter that he did trade for isn’t even on the playoff roster (Luis Castillo).

With that, lefthander Hagen Smith will make his first career postseason start, and will be his second appearance as an opener since joining the White Sox. Smith tossed 28 innings in 18 games with the South Siders in 2026, posting an excellent 1.29 ERA to complement a 0.964 WHIP while striking out 41 batters at a 37.3% strikeout rate, which was the fifth-highest in all of baseball (minimum 20 IP). The overall though process behind the opener today is to attempt to shut down the top of the order right off the bat, as the first three hitters for Houston (Jeremy Peña, Yordan Alvarez and Isaac Paredes) all have weaker splits against left-handed pitchers compared to righties.

Recency bias also doesn’t help defend the opener, as we’ve had a couple of brutal outings recently with Chris Murphy and Bryan Hudson. However, with how strong Hagen has been since being called up, there’s more optimism with the strategy this time around. After Smith, it’s probable that righthander Erick Fedde will take over as the bulk pitcher, and he has been one of the more consistent arms that the Sox have had down the stretch.

As for the lineup, the South Siders are working with the right-handed pitcher AJ Blubaugh on the mound for the Astros, with the batting over heavily favoring left-handed hitters. Given the RHP matchup, Sam Antonacci will maintain the leadoff spot, with Kyle Teel and Miguel Vargas rounding out the top three. Andrew Benintendi will take over as the DH, though it’s still possible we see Randal Grichuk sub in at some point depending on the Astros bullpen situation. The main change between the typical batting order is that Colson Montgomery will be slotted into the 9-spot considering his struggles at the plate recently, though he’s still a sound shortstop with more than 30 bombs on the season and he could run into one any time.

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For the Astros, Blubaugh will be opening for the first time in 2026 after coming out of the bullpen for all 64 appearances this season. The righty owns a 3.66 ERA in 96 frames with a 1.229 WHIP, though he doesn’t strike batters out at as high of a rate as Smith does. Blubaugh has posted 96 Ks with a 23.4% strikeout rate, though he also has walked batters 10.5% of the time, which could be beneficial for a White Sox team that ranks sixth in MLB in walk rate (9.5% BB%).

The South Siders have only defeated the Astros twice in seven games this season, and they’ve seen their fair share of Astros power hitters. In order to be successful tonight, the key will be to control the top of the order and keep them off base as much as possible. Outside of Alvarez, Peña, and Paredes, you can’t sleep on José Altuve, who owns a career .842 OPS in the postseason.

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Because MLB can’t make anything easy, tonight’s game can be viewed either on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) or on NBC’s streaming service Peacock. We also have extra details in our broadcast guide for the week, but at least they made it easy enough to remember that we play at the same time for the next few days, and we still get to listen to Steve Stone in the broadcast. First pitch will take place at 4:00 p.m. CT at Daikin Park, and it’s time for a White Sox winner.