Astros vs. White Sox Wild Card Series Preview: Houston’s Pitching Faces a Dangerous Chicago Lineup
The Astros took the longest possible route to October. Now none of that matters.
Houston opens a best-of-three American League Wild Card Series against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday at Daikin Park, where the Astros will host every game as the AL West champions and No. 3 seed.
The records make for an unusual matchup. Chicago finished 84-78, while Houston needed all 162 games to finish 81-81 and claim its eighth AL West title in 10 years.
But the regular-season matchup between these teams tells a different story.
Houston Had Chicago’s Number
The Astros won five of seven games against the White Sox this season, and Houston’s pitching was the biggest reason.
Chicago scored 28 runs across the seven games, but 12 of them came in one 12-3 victory July 26. In the other six meetings, the White Sox managed 16 runs and only one home run.
Several pitchers Houston will rely upon this week were particularly effective against Chicago. Hunter Brown allowed two earned runs over 13 innings in his two starts, with 14 strikeouts and two walks. Hayden Wesneski threw seven scoreless innings, while AJ Blubaugh, Bryan Abreu, Josh Hader, and Steven Okert combined for another 12⅓ scoreless innings.
That history becomes especially relevant because Houston finally enters a series with a rested bullpen.
Hader last pitched Wednesday and Abreu on Thursday. Blubaugh, who led all major-league relievers with 96 innings this season, last worked Friday. After spending the entire regular season in relief, he will make his first start of 2026 in Game 1.
Bullpen Games on Both Sides
Tuesday could look very different from a conventional postseason opener.
Houston will start Blubaugh and work from there. Chicago is taking a similar approach with rookie left-hander Hagen Smith, who will open a White Sox bullpen game. Smith made 18 major-league appearances this season, only one of them a start, and posted a 1.29 ERA in relief.
The Astros’ pitching picture becomes more conventional after Tuesday. Brown is lined up for Game 2 on Wednesday, with Wesneski available on regular rest for a deciding Game 3 on Thursday if necessary.
Brown gives Houston a particularly appealing matchup. He finished the regular season with a 3.19 ERA and 124 strikeouts in 109 innings despite missing more than two months with a shoulder strain, and his two starts against Chicago produced a 1.38 ERA.
Chicago Has Plenty of Power
The White Sox arrive in Houston with considerably more offensive depth than their recent history might suggest.
Miguel Vargas hit 33 home runs and stole 22 bases this season, while rookie Munetaka Murakami supplied another major power threat with 35 home runs. Shortstop Colson Montgomery hit 31 homers, although his 227 strikeouts set a major-league single-season record.
Chicago’s offense also presents Houston with a patience problem. Vargas drew 101 walks, sixth-most in the majors, and the White Sox have several hitters capable of making a pitching staff work.
That could matter immediately in a game Houston intends to cover with multiple relievers. Blubaugh has provided length all season, but his workload became shorter late in the year. How efficiently Houston can get from him to its late-inning bullpen could shape Game 1.
Which Astros Offense Shows Up?
Houston’s most persistent problem entering October may be the same one that followed it through much of the final two months: turning opportunities into runs.
The Astros were hardly helpless with runners in scoring position in September. They hit .272/.335/.467 in those situations. The trouble became more pronounced in the highest-leverage plate appearances, when Houston’s production dropped sharply.
Then the final week looked completely different.
Houston scored 46 runs over its final six games and finished the regular season by beating the Athletics 13-2 and 9-0. Yainer Diaz enters October particularly hot, while Isaac Paredes hit .291 with a .998 OPS in September. Rookie Lucas Spence finished the regular season 6-for-15 with four home runs, a triple, and nine RBIs over his final four games, including the first three-homer game of his major-league career.
And, of course, there is Yordan Alvarez.
Alvarez finished an extraordinary regular season batting .316 with a .432 on-base percentage and .601 slugging percentage. He hit 42 home runs, drove in 106 runs, drew 109 walks, and finished with a 1.033 OPS.
Jeremy Peña also finished hot, batting .353 with five home runs over his final 12 games, while Christian Walker hit four homers with a 1.167 OPS over his final eight.
An Unlikely October Reunion
This will be the third postseason meeting between the Astros and White Sox.
Chicago swept Houston in the 2005 World Series, when the Astros were still in the National League. Houston beat Chicago in four games in the 2021 ALDS on its way to the World Series.
Five years later, the circumstances are considerably stranger.
The White Sox have returned to October after a 60-102 season in 2025, improving by 24 wins. Houston arrives at 81-81 after a season that included a franchise-record 19 starting pitchers, a change at general manager, and a division race that remained unsettled until Game 162.
Neither team followed a conventional path here.
Now they need only two wins.
Game 1 begins Tuesday at 4:10 p.m. CT at Daikin Park, with Blubaugh and Smith opening what could quickly become a battle between two bullpens. Game 2 follows Wednesday, with Brown lined up for Houston. Wesneski is lined up for a potential Game 3 on Thursday.
The winner advances to face the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Division Series beginning Saturday.
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