HOUSTON — Sam Antonacci tripped running out of the dugout during pregame introductions Tuesday at Daikin Park, but that was the only misstep for the Chicago White Sox in a 6-3 victory over the Houston Astros in Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series. The win puts Chicago one victory away from its first playoff series win since a four-game sweep of the Astros in the 2005 World Series.
It was a bullpen game for both clubs — by choice for Chicago and more out of necessity for Houston, which had just used its main starters against the Athletics to win the American League West over the Texas Rangers. Rookie Hagen Smith delivered three scoreless innings for the White Sox, allowing only two hits with one strikeout while attacking the zone with his four-pitch mix to record seven swings and misses, according to Statcast. He retired AL Most Valuable Player favorite Yordan Alvarez with two outs and a runner on third to end the third inning. Alvarez is 4-for-23 with one extra-base hit vs. the White Sox this season. Astros opener AJ Blubaugh could not find the zone, throwing just 13 of his 27 pitches for strikes, as Houston needed two pitchers just to get through the first inning while allowing one unearned run.
Colson Montgomery hit ninth for the first time this season, two days after talking about using the playoffs as a reset after setting Major League Baseball's single-season record with 227 strikeouts. That reset was real, as Montgomery launched a Statcast-projected 432-foot home run in the fourth off Miguel Ullola. "I don't care where I'm at," Montgomery said pregame. "As long as I'm in the lineup." Braden Montgomery added two hits and scored once, as did Chase Meidroth, while Antonacci scored the game's first run, drove home two with a single and was hit by a pitch in the sixth. He set the single-season franchise mark with 27 hit by pitches in '26.
Four pitchers took the mound after Smith, with Sean Newcomb yielding Nelson Velázquez's two-run, pinch-hit blast in the fifth. David Sandlin worked 1 1/3 innings before giving way to Grant Taylor as Chicago held Houston to three runs.
With another win on Wednesday or Thursday, Chicago would advance to Cleveland for a best-of-five AL Division Series. Staff ace Sean Burke is set to play a significant role in Game 2 on Wednesday. The Guardians won the AL Central by one game despite the White Sox winning the season series 7-6, a race that followed Guardians Clinch AL Central, Postseason Berth With 1-0 Win.