HOUSTON – Sam Antonacci tripped running out of the dugout during pregame introductions for Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series between his White Sox and the Astros on Tuesday at Daikin Park.
That misstep was pretty much the only one encountered by the White Sox during a 6-3 victory over the American League West champions. With another win on Wednesday or Thursday, the White Sox would claim their first playoff series victory since a four-game sweep of the Astros in the 2005 World Series, with staff ace Sean Burke set to play a significant role in Game 2 on Wednesday.
A victory in either of these next two days would send the White Sox to Cleveland for a best-of-five AL Division Series. The Guardians won the AL Central by one game, despite the White Sox winning the season series, 7-6.
It was bullpen games Tuesday for both teams: By choice for the White Sox, and more out of necessity for the Astros, who had just used their main starters against the A’s to win the division – which they needed to do to reach the playoffs over the Rangers. And it worked much better for the visiting South Siders.
Rookie Hagen Smith pitched three scoreless innings, allowing only two hits. He struck out one but attacked the zone with his four-pitch mix to record seven swings and misses according to Statcast. He retired Yordan Alvarez with two outs and a runner on third to end the third inning. Alvarez, the AL Most Valuable Player favorite, is 4-for-23 with one extra-base hit vs. the White Sox this season.
Meanwhile, opener AJ Blubaugh could not find the zone for Houston, throwing just 13 of his 27 pitches for strikes. The Astros needed two pitchers just to get through the first inning, although they allowed one unearned run.
Colson Montgomery hit ninth for the first time this season, two days after talking about using the playoffs as a reset after setting Major League Baseball’s single-season record with 227 strikeouts. That reset was real, as Montgomery launched a Statcast-projected 432-foot home run in the fourth off Miguel Ullola.
“I don’t care where I’m at,” Montgomery said pregame. “As long as I’m in the lineup.”
Braden Montgomery added two hits and scored once, as did Chase Meidroth. As for Antonacci? He drove home two with a single after scoring the game’s first run while also getting hit by a pitch in the sixth. He set the single-season franchise mark with 27 in ‘26, so it only makes sense.
Four pitchers took the mound after Smith, with Sean Newcomb yielding Nelson Velázquez’s two-run, pinch-hit blast in the fifth. David Sandlin worked 1 1/3 innings before giving way to Grant Taylor.