The Chicago White Sox are moving on in October. Chase Meidroth's three-run homer in the sixth inning broke open a tight game on Wednesday as the White Sox beat the Houston Astros 7-3 in Houston, completing a 2-0 sweep of the American League Wild Card Series.The sweep gave Chicago its first postseason series victory since the 2005 World Series — a triumph that also came at the expense of the Astros, two decades ago.
Early outburst, then the knockout blow
Chicago wasted no time, scoring four runs in the top of the first inning off Astros ace Hunter Brown, who did not make it out of the frame. Kyle Teel, Andrew Benintendi and Tristan Peters all delivered RBI singles, and two Houston defensive errors helped the visitors to a 4-0 lead.
Houston clawed back through the long ball. Jeremy Pena hit a 395-foot solo shot in the first, Cam Smith launched a 440-foot homer in the second, and Jose Altuve — with the 28th postseason home run of his career, second all-time behind Manny Ramirez — pulled the Astros within 4-3 in the fourth.
The Astros left the bases loaded in the fifth, and Chicago made them pay. Meidroth drove a 3-1 slider from reliever Bryan Abreu 390 feet to left-center for the decisive three-run blast.
What comes next
White Sox starter Sean Burke allowed three runs and four hits with eight strikeouts over four innings, and left-hander Anthony Kay escaped the fifth-inning jam to protect the lead.
The White Sox now face the Cleveland Guardians in a best-of-five AL Division Series that begins Saturday in Cleveland. It is a rematch-era milestone for a franchise that has waited 21 years for a postseason series win.
Sources:
White Sox sweep Astros for first postseason series win since 2005 — Reuters
White Sox sweep past Astros to reach ALDS — Japan Times (AFP-Jiji)