Two Years After 121 Losses, the White Sox Win a Playoff Series in Houston Again

The last time the Chicago White Sox won a playoff series, it ended on Oct. 26, 2005, in Houston, against the Astros, with Jerry Reinsdorf celebrating on the field. On Wednesday it happened again in the same ballpark, against the same team, and Reinsdorf, now 90, was there.

Almost nothing else was the same. Chicago beat the Astros 7-3 to finish a two-game Wild Card sweep with a roster so young that nine players who appeared in the series were in kindergarten or younger the last time this happened.

Two years ago this franchise lost a record 121 games. Only the Reds had gone longer without winning a postseason series.

Kay's escape, Meidroth's swing

The game turned in two innings. Houston cut a 4-0 lead to 4-3 in the fifth and put two runners on for Yordan Álvarez, the AL MVP favorite. Manager Will Venable brought in left-hander Anthony Kay, and Kay got out of it.

In the sixth, second baseman Chase Meidroth hit a three-run homer off Bryan Abreu, and the White Sox never looked back.

"We've got a young, hungry group, some veteran guys that we lean on," Meidroth said. "But it's been the same all year. We believe we can win every game."

Venable thought of the fans who sat through the bad years. "I'm really just happy for everybody who over the last few years experienced White Sox baseball when it wasn't at its best," he said.

Cleveland next

The ALDS opens Saturday at 1 p.m. ET in Cleveland, on TBS and truTV. Chicago is starting reliever Hagen Smith, who threw three scoreless innings to open this series, against Guardians rookie Parker Messick. The White Sox won the season series 7-6. Watch it live on TVRivo.