From 121 losses to October: how the White Sox got here

Stop and appreciate how unlikely this is. The Chicago White Sox lost 100 or more games in each of the last three seasons — including a record-shattering 121-loss campaign in 2024. Now they are the first team in baseball history to reach the postseason after losing 100-plus games in three consecutive seasons, and they punched their way into the American League Division Series by going to Houston and sweeping the Astros 2-0 in the Wild Card round. Wednesday's 7-3 Game 2 win was the franchise's first postseason series victory since the 2005 World Series title. From the worst team of the modern era to October in twenty-four months — it is one of the most stunning turnarounds the sport has ever seen.

It wasn't pretty in April. Chicago started 6-13, and the young bats looked overmatched. Then the lineup found its identity: the long ball. The White Sox hit 211 home runs this season, powered by three 30-homer bats who carried the entire offense. Munetaka Murakami, the 28-year-old Japanese star who was largely overlooked by clubs during the offseason before signing a two-year, $34 million deal in Chicago, made other teams' scouting departments look foolish: 35 home runs and 77 RBI. Miguel Vargas, acquired from the Dodgers and turned into an All-Star on the South Side, went deep 33 times with 93 RBI and 106 runs scored. Colson Montgomery added 31 homers and 87 RBI. That is three sources of sudden-death power in a lineup nobody feared in spring.

The sweep of Houston was signature White Sox: early punches, late knockout blows. In Game 1, Chicago exploded for a big first inning — Munetaka Murakami drove in runs as the Sox knocked out Astros starter AJ Blubaugh before he could finish the frame — and never looked back in a 6-3 win. Game 2 followed the same script: an early lead, a Houston push that cut the deficit to one, and then a massive three-run homer from second baseman Chase Meidroth in the sixth to restore breathing room. Jordan Hicks came up big in both games out of the bullpen, and Erick Fedde helped slam the door. The pitching plan was chaotic — Chicago used eight pitchers across the two games — but Houston never made them pay. The Astros' most dangerous bat, Yordan Alvarez, who hit 42 homers in the regular season, was held to a single lonely single in the series. The fans noticed the shift, too: White Sox home attendance jumped to 1,986,425 this season, up from 1,445,758 in 2025.

And then came the moment that made Murakami an October legend before the ALDS even began. Covered in beer in the postgame clubhouse celebration, asked how he felt, the Japanese rookie answered simply: "100." A minute later he added, "I'm drunk, I'm drunk. Yesterday, maybe hungover, you know?" When gently corrected, he grinned: "No, not yesterday, tomorrow. Sorry, I don't speak English." Quote of the postseason, easy.

The Guardians: 24-11 down the stretch to the AL Central crown

Waiting for them are the Cleveland Guardians — 85-77, the No. 2 seed in the American League, and the team that won the division by exactly one game over Chicago. The Guardians closed the regular season 24-11, ripping the AL Central out of the White Sox's grasp in the season's final weeks, and they earned a first-round bye for it. That means Cleveland's pitching staff is rested and reset while Chicago just burned eight pitchers over two high-leverage nights in Houston. It's the classic October question: does rest beat rhythm?

Manager Stephen Vogt isn't underestimating anyone. "They've got a lot of power and they match up really well with us pitching-wise," he said. Cleveland will hand Game 1 to lefty Parker Messick, and the Guardians' formula all season has been run prevention and contact pressure rather than the White Sox's all-or-nothing power. Note the format quirk that made this matchup possible: MLB does not re-seed after the Wild Card round, so the two lowest-seeded survivors simply slid into the two byes. The result is an all-AL Central ALDS that the standings said should never happen this early.

Storylines to watch

The first inning will tell you everything. The White Sox scored in the first inning of both Wild Card games, putting instant pressure on Houston's starters. Cleveland's staff knows it's coming — Messick and company must survive the opening frame or spend the afternoon chasing.

Power versus contact. Chicago wants to end at-bats with one swing; Cleveland wants to extend them until the Sox's strikeout-prone offense breaks. The Guardians won 85 games by keeping the ball in play and the score close. In a five-game series, one style gets exposed.

The bullpen tax. Chicago's eight-pitcher Wild Card plan worked because Houston couldn't cash in its chances. Cleveland's hitters, rested since Sunday, get a fresh look at an already-worked bullpen. If the Sox starters can't give length, the middle innings could get dicey fast.

House money versus unfinished business. Nobody expected the White Sox to be here — they are, by their own admission, playing with house money. The Guardians, division champs with 85 wins, expect to be in the ALCS. October punishes the team that tightens up.

Key players

White Sox: Munetaka Murakami (35 HR) is the beating heart of the offense and the biggest story of the postseason. Miguel Vargas (33 HR, 93 RBI) and Colson Montgomery (31 HR) give the lineup its depth. Chase Meidroth delivered the biggest swing of the Wild Card round. Out of the bullpen, Jordan Hicks and Erick Fedde were the heroes in Houston.

Guardians: Parker Messick gets the Game 1 ball as a lefty — the right call against Chicago's right-handed power. Vogt's bullpen is the engine of this team; if Cleveland's starters hand over a lead, it rarely leaves.

The series ahead

Game 1 is Saturday, Oct. 3 at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT) at Progressive Field, airing on TBS and truTV and streaming on HBO Max. Game 2 follows Monday, Oct. 5 at 5 p.m. ET in Cleveland. The series shifts to Chicago's Rate Field for Game 3 on Wednesday, Oct. 7, with Game 4 (if necessary) on Thursday, Oct. 8, and a winner-take-all Game 5 (if necessary) back at Progressive Field on Saturday, Oct. 10. The winner moves on to the ALCS. For a team that lost 121 games two years ago, three more wins would be one of the great runs in baseball history.