The Chicago White Sox took advantage of early Houston pitching problems and then held off a late Astros rally to earn a 6-3 victory in Game 1 of their American League Wild Card Series in Houston.
Chicago entered the best-of-three series as one of baseball's surprise stories after three consecutive 100-loss seasons. Houston, meanwhile, secured its division title on the final day of the regular season and opened the playoffs at home.
The White Sox immediately put pressure on Houston's unconventional pitching plan. Astros opener AJ Blubaugh issued three walks in the first inning, and a Christian Walker error helped Chicago put runners in scoring position. Munetaka Murakami's sacrifice fly brought home the game's first run before Houston went to its bullpen.
Chicago did considerably more damage in the second. Braden Montgomery opened with a single, and the White Sox continued producing disciplined at-bats against Houston pitching. With the bases loaded, Sam Antonacci delivered a two-run single to left-center, extending Chicago's lead to 3-0. Houston had already reached its third pitcher before recording an out in the inning.
Miguel Ullola prevented further damage by escaping the bases-loaded situation, but Chicago added another run in the fourth when Colson Montgomery drove a ball over the center-field wall for a solo home run and a 4-0 advantage.
The White Sox stretched the margin to 5-0 in the fifth on Chase Meidroth's infield single with the bases loaded. Houston finally generated some offense in the bottom half when pinch hitter Nelson Velázquez launched a two-run homer to left, cutting the deficit to 5-2 and bringing the home crowd back into the game.
Chicago answered in the seventh. After consecutive singles and a sacrifice bunt advanced the runners, a wild pitch brought Murakami home for a 6-2 lead.
Houston made its strongest push in the eighth. Jeremy Peña singled and Yordan Alvarez followed with another hit, putting runners at the corners. José Altuve later hustled down the line on a ground ball, helping produce another Astros run after a replay challenge confirmed the safe call at first.
Suddenly, Houston had the tying run at the plate.
Chicago reliever Grant Taylor responded by striking out Yainer Díaz to preserve the 6-3 advantage and end the threat.
The Astros created one final opportunity when Walker drew a leadoff walk in the ninth, but Taylor settled in. He recorded consecutive strikeouts before a ground ball to third ended the game.
Chicago's 6-3 victory represented the franchise's first postseason win in nearly five years and gave the White Sox the early advantage in the best-of-three series. For Houston, the challenge now becomes immediate: recover from an uneven pitching performance and avoid elimination in Game 2.
