White Sox 7, Astros 3: Meidroth's Homer Finishes a Sweep

Four in the first. Three in the sixth. A series Chicago had not won in 21 years.

September 30, 2026 - Houston - Chase Meidroth pumped his fist from contact to home plate. The three-run homer made it 7-3 in the sixth of AL Wild Card Game 2, and the Chicago White Sox were 12 outs from their first postseason series win since 2005. They finished those 12. The Houston Astros went home.

Roof closed. 73 degrees. No wind. First pitch 4:11 p.m. Attendance 36,015. The game lasted 3 hours, 5 minutes. Final: 7-3. Chicago wins the series 2-0 and goes to Cleveland for the AL Division Series.

"When I'm locked in on the field, I don't know what goes through my mind," Meidroth said, per MLB.com. "All I'm thinking about is me and the baseball and trying to compete. But I had a good feeling."

Hunter Brown did not get out of the first

Hunter Brown entered 6-0 with a 2.39 ERA in six career starts against the White Sox, the MLB recap said. He threw 36 pitches and recorded two outs. Sam Antonacci doubled to left on a ball Yordan Alvarez seemed to have a play on. Kyle Teel singled him home. 1-0. Miguel Vargas reached on Nick Allen's fielding error. Andrew Benintendi singled Teel home. Vargas scored when Lucas Spence's throw home got away from Yainer Diaz. 3-0. Tristan Peters added an RBI single. 4-0, and Houston had not recorded a second out.

That is how this White Sox club has won all year, manager Will Venable said. "Sammy [Antonacci] setting the tone, great job down the lineup with everyone behind him."

Three solo homers. Then Kay stranded the fifth.

Sean Burke struck out eight in four innings. He also allowed three solo homers: Jeremy Peña to left-center in the first, Cam Smith to left in the second, Jose Altuve to left in the fourth. 4-3. Burke threw 72 pitches. The strikeouts kept Houston from turning those homers into a bigger inning. The homers still made it a game.

The fifth was Houston's last real chance. Runners on first and second, one out, Alvarez up. Anthony Kay was in for his first true relief appearance of the season, the MLB recap said. He fell behind 3-0, threw a strike Alvarez took, then got a fly ball to Antonacci in left. Isaac Paredes walked to load the bases. Altuve flied to right. Inning over. Kay got the win for 2/3 of an inning that did not look like a win on paper and felt like one in the dugout.

Huascar Brazobán had already bridged Burke to Kay. Jordan Hicks threw two scoreless after that: no hits, three strikeouts, 21 pitches. Erick Fedde finished the last two innings: no hits, three strikeouts, 34 pitches. Houston did not score after the fourth.

Meidroth, then champagne that had been waiting since 2005

Luisangel Acuña and Peters were on when Meidroth faced Bryan Abreu in the sixth. The three-run homer to left restored the four-run lead. Abreu still struck out six in 2 2/3. The homer was the one Chicago will keep. Meidroth went 2-for-3 with a walk and three RBI.

"These players are scared of nothing," general manager Chris Getz said, per MLB.com. Venable called the two games emblematic of the season. Contributions from everywhere. Pitchers in different spots. The same first-inning habit Houston could not fix for two days.

The last White Sox series win in October was a four-game World Series sweep of these Astros in 2005, with Games 3 and 4 at what is now Daikin Park, the MLB recap said. Wednesday was not a World Series. It was the first brick. Cleveland is next.

Houston had three homers and five hits. Peña, Smith, and Altuve each went deep and still lost a home series in two games. Brown did not survive the first. That is the version of an AL West champion that does not get a Game 3.

AthX Engine after the baseball

AthX Engine (our projection and scoring system) put Chicago at 14 team fantasy points, second on a four-game Wild Card card. Meidroth had 10 hitting FP. Fedde and Hicks had 9 pitching FP each. Burke's eight strikeouts did not outrun three homers. Brown's line sat at the bottom of the pitcher board.

Fantasy points measure the night under platform scoring rules. Share prices also move with traders through dynamic pricing. They are related. They are not the same number.

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*Sources: MLB.com schedule; MLB Gameday wrap; ESPN scoreboard; ESPN box score; AthX Engine scoring applied to verified box stats. Information only; not financial advice.*