Three sweeps, one series going the distance and the White Sox still playing baseball in October. That’s a pretty good start to the postseason.
The South Siders sent Houston packing for their first postseason series win in 21 years, while the Yankees steamrolled Boston and the Padres shut down the North Side’s supposedly mighty offense. Atlanta and Philadelphia supplied the drama, splitting two tight games to force the only winner-take-all matchup of the Wild Card round.
Chicago White Sox vs. Houston
Astros — White Sox win series, 2-0 The White Sox made quick work of the Astros, taking both games in Houston and finally giving fans a postseason series victory for the first time since 2005. Timely hitting, some thunder from unexpected places and a bullpen that handled its business? Yes, please.
Chicago White Sox 6, Houston Astros 3 — Game 1
The Good Guys wasted no time getting on the board, manufacturing a first-inning run with a little small ball. Sam Antonacci drew a leadoff walk, Kyle Teel moved him over with a ground out and Miguel Vargas took a free pass before Munetaka Murakami’s sacrifice fly gave Chicago a 1-0 lead.
The Pale Hose added a pair in the second. Back-to-back singles from Braden Montgomery and Chase Meidroth, followed by a hit-by-pitch for Colson Montgomery, packed the sacks for Antonacci. The rookie delivered a two-run single to left, putting the Sox up 3-0.
Colson supplied the loud contact in the fourth, absolutely demolishing a solo shot 432 feet to center. Another run followed in the fifth, courtesy of a string of singles from Tristan Peters, Braden and Meidroth.
Houston answered with two runs in the bottom of the fifth, but the Sox found a little breathing room in the seventh with help from undercover agent Bennett Sousa. Mune and Randal Grichuk singled, Peters moved them over with a sacrifice bunt and Sousa uncorked a wild pitch to bring Mune home.
The Astros added a tally in the eighth, but that was as close as they got.
Hagen Smith, Jordan Hicks and David Sandlin combined for 5 2/3 scoreless innings, while Grant Taylor was an absolute dog, throwing a career-high 54 pitches to help the South Siders finish the job: one down, one to go.
Chicago White Sox 7, Houston Astros 3 — Game 2
The Sox came out with their hair on fire, hanging four runs on Houston before Hunter Brown could even finish the first inning.
Antonacci opened with a double and scored on Teel’s single. The Astros then helped the cause with a pair of errors, including one on a Vargas grounder and another that allowed an extra run to score following an Andrew Benintendi single. Peters capped the outburst with an RBI base hit, and Brown’s afternoon was already over.
Houston eventually clawed back within a run, because apparently Sox fans weren’t allowed to enjoy a completely stress-free clincher. But Meidroth delivered the death blow in the sixth, launching a three-run tank to turn a nervous 4-3 lead into a much more comfortable 7-3 advantage.
The pitching staff took care of the rest. Sean Burke allowed three runs over four innings before handing things to the arm barn. Huascar Brazobán, Anthony Kay, Jordan Hicks and Erick Fedde combined for five scoreless innings, shutting the door on Houston and keeping the South Siders’ October alive.
Next up: Cleveland. The Good Guys open the ALDS at Progressive Field on Saturday at noon CT, with coverage on TBS, truTV and HBO Max.
New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox — Yankees win series, 2-0
So much for a competitive chapter in this rivalry.
The Yankees outscored the Red Sox 18-2 over two games, and they did it without Aaron Judge. His availability for the ALDS remains uncertain, but Ben Rice had no trouble picking up the slack, going 5-for-9 with two homers and 10 RBIs.
Boston’s second-half comeback was a nice story. Its postseason stay was considerably less inspiring.
New York Yankees 9, Boston Red Sox 0 — Game 1
This one was all Yankees, all night.
Rice went deep twice, including an eighth-inning grand slam that turned an already comfortable lead into a full-blown beatdown.
Cam Schlittler was nails, throwing 6 1/3 shutout innings with 10 strikeouts, one walk and just two hits allowed. He needed a career-high 117 pitches, but Boston never found an answer.
The Red Sox managed only three hits all game, with Trevor Story’s double accounting for their lone extra-base hit. It’s hard to win when nobody gets on base and the other side keeps circling.
New York Yankees 9, Boston Red Sox 2 — Game 2
Boston briefly made this one interesting, cutting New York’s lead to 2-1 after six innings. Then old friend Garrett Crochet entered, making his first appearance since April, and things unraveled in a hurry.
Crochet was charged with four runs without recording an out, effectively slamming the door on any hopes of a Red Sox comeback.
The Yankees piled on from there, completing another nine-run performance and sending Boston home. Eighteen runs without Judge is a pretty unsettling thought for the Tampa Bay Rays, who have to deal with this lineup next.
San Diego Padres vs. Chicago Cubs — Padres win series, 2-0
It was a quick exit for our North Side foes, whose offense picked a spectacularly bad time to disappear.
The Cubs led MLB with 850 runs during the regular season. Against San Diego, they managed one run on eight hits across two games, with just one double to show for their extra-base production.
Likely NL MVP Pete Crow-Armstrong went 0-for-7 with a walk and four strikeouts. Meanwhile, the Padres kept their red-hot second half rolling right into October.
San Diego Padres 8, Chicago Cubs 0 — Game 1
The Friars piled up 13 hits, including solo dingers from Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts, making sure this one never became much of a contest.
Machado went 2-for-3 with a homer, a double and two RBIs, while Michael King dominated on the mound. King carried a no-hitter into the seventh before Nico Hoerner finally broke it up with a one-out single.
That hit gave the Cubs something to put in the box score. It did very little to change the game.
San Diego Padres 4, Chicago Cubs 1
Another old friend had himself an October moment.
Gavin Sheets came off the bench and delivered a clutch pinch-hit, two-run four-bagger, extending San Diego’s lead to 4-1. With the Cubs’ bats still missing in action, that was more than enough.
The Padres finished the sweep, and Sheets helped send the North Siders home. A former White Sox player contributing to a Cubs postseason exit? We’ll take that little bonus.
Atlanta Braves vs. Philadelphia Phillies — Braves win series, 2-1
Atlanta Braves 5, Philadelphia Phillies 3 — Game 1
Austin Riley picked a pretty good time to turn the page on a miserable regular season.
After slashing just .219/.290/.364 with a .654 OPS, Riley stepped to the plate in the bottom of the eighth with Atlanta trailing 3-2. One swing later, the Braves were up 5-3, courtesy of a three-run homer.
Raisel Iglesias handled the ninth, although Brandon Marsh made him work a little by leading off with a single. Iglesias promptly induced a double play from Bryan De La Cruz, then got Bryson Stott to fly out and sealed the win.
Philadelphia was four outs from taking the opener. Riley had other plans.
Philadelphia Phillies 4, Atlanta Braves 3 — Game 2
The Braves looked ready to finish the series when they broke a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the seventh. Drake Baldwin delivered an RBI double off Cristopher Sánchez, and Matt Olson followed with a sacrifice fly to give Atlanta a 3-1 lead.
The Phillies responded with a collective “hold my beer.” Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper went back-to-back, tying the game at 3-3 and wiping out Atlanta’s advantage.
Neither team could finish the job in nine, so off to extras they went. Thankfully, there are no ghost runners in the postseason. Actual baseball!
Alec Bohm kept the home run parade going in the top of the 10th, sending one out to right to put Philadelphia ahead, 4-3.
Then things got hairy for Andrew Painter, who had entered in the seventh to relieve Sánchez. Singles from Mauricio Dubón and Michael Harris II put runners on first and second with two outs, bringing Dominic Smith to the plate. With a 0-2 count, the next pitch was called a ball. Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto challenged the call, and the ABS review overturned it for strike three.
Ballgame. Series tied.
Atlanta Braves 6, Philadelphia Phillies 2 — Game 3
The Braves were cooking with gas from the start when Michael Harris II tagged Aaron Nola for a three-run blast in the bottom of the first, putting Philadelphia in an early hole. Phillies skipper Don Mattingly wasted no time with the hook, pulling the veteran with two outs in the second.
Then with Philadelphia’s season on the line, he turned to Zack Wheeler in the third. The 36-year-old got through that inning unscathed, but Ozzie Albies took him deep for a two-run shot in the fourth, giving Atlanta a 5-0 advantage.
The Phillies finally broke through in the sixth. Schwarber singled, Harper doubled and Bohm brought home a run with a ground out. Atlanta promptly took that run back in the seventh on a Matt Olson dinger.
Yet another old White Sox friend, Derek Hill, supplied a little life for Philadelphia with a leadoff triple in the eighth. Trea Turner drove him home with a sacrifice fly, cutting Atlanta’s lead to 6-2. With two outs in the inning, Braves manager Walt Weiss went to the pen for none other than Chris Sale. He wasn’t messing around.
Down to their final three outs, the Phillies went down with a whimper. Bohm singled to open the ninth, but a pop-up and two Ks later, Sale had pulled a Mark Buehrle, coming out of the bullpen to finish it out and send Atlanta to the NLDS.
