THE WHITE SOX ARE TWO WINS FROM THE ALCS

Eight teams are left in the 2026 postseason, and the White Sox have not lost yet. Chicago swept Houston in the Wild Card Series, then beat Cleveland 3 to 0 in Game 1 of the ALDS on Saturday. A team that lost 100 games in each of the last three seasons is two wins from the American League Championship Series.

The White Sox Are 3 and 0 This October

Chicago entered the Wild Card round as the sixth seed and won both games in Houston, 6 to 3 and 7 to 3. Game 2 broke open in the first inning, when the White Sox scored four runs and Astros ace Hunter Brown was pulled after getting two outs. Chase Meidroth added a three run homer. It was the club's first playoff series win since it beat Houston in the 2005 World Series, and according to the AP, no team had ever followed consecutive 100 loss seasons with a playoff berth.

On Saturday in Cleveland, Munetaka Murakami turned a first pitch sinker into a two run homer in the fourth inning. It traveled 440 feet into the right field stands, his first postseason home run. Five Chicago pitchers combined on a three hitter. Hagen Smith retired the first eight Guardians he faced before three walks loaded the bases in the third, and Bryan Hudson got out of it. Grant Taylor closed with four innings of two hit relief and six strikeouts for the save.

Cleveland left the bases loaded in both the third and the fourth. The Guardians won their third straight AL Central title by one game over Chicago and hold the No. 2 seed with an 85 and 77 record, the 10th best among the 12 playoff teams. The White Sox won 84.

Drew Rasmussen Took a No Hitter Into the Eighth

Tampa Bay, the top seed in the American League, beat the Yankees 1 to 0 in Game 1. Drew Rasmussen held New York without a hit for seven and two thirds innings. The Yankees had swept Boston to get there, winning Game 2 by 9 to 2.

The Dodgers and Brewers Won the National League Openers

The Dodgers, champions in each of the last two seasons, beat Atlanta 5 to 3. The Braves reached the Division Series by beating Philadelphia 6 to 2 in a deciding Game 3.

Milwaukee won 103 games in the regular season and opened with a 3 to 2 win over San Diego on a late homer by William Contreras. The Padres had swept the Cubs in the Wild Card round, finishing with a 4 to 1 win that ended the season for a Chicago team whose center fielder joined the 40 and 40 club in September.

The Schedule From Here

Houston, Boston, Philadelphia and the Cubs are done. Every Division Series is a best of five, and every Game 1 winner leads 1 and 0.

Both National League Game 2s are Sunday, with the Padres at the Brewers at 4 p.m. Eastern and the Braves at the Dodgers at 8 p.m. Eastern. The ALDS resumes Monday with the White Sox at the Guardians at 5 p.m. Eastern and the Yankees at the Rays at 8 p.m. Eastern, and the White Sox series moves to Chicago for Game 3 on Wednesday.

MLB pointed out that the last time Chicago opened a postseason 3 and 0 was 2005, the year it won the World Series.