AL Wild Card Game 1: Houston Astros vs Chicago White Sox, September 29, 2026

AL Wild Card Game 1

White SoxCWS
6-3
Final
AstrosHOU

September 29, 2026, 5:00 PM ET | Daikin Park

Last 5 Form

Chicago White Sox

3-2

Last 5
L 4-5
@ KC
W 9-1
@ KC
W 6-1
vs COL
L 6-9
vs COL
W 4-2
vs COL

Houston Astros

3-2

Last 5
L 5-6
@ SEA
W 7-5
@ ATH
L 5-6
@ ATH
W 13-2
@ ATH
W 9-0
@ ATH

Starting Pitchers

Chicago White Sox

Hagen Smith headshot
Hagen Smith
Recorded starter

Houston Astros

AJ Blubaugh headshot
AJ Blubaugh
Recorded starter

Standings Snapshot

Full standings
Season recordsRecord, division and wild card rank, games back. Standings as of Sep 27, 11:25 PM ET
TeamW-LPCTDivWCGB
Chicago White Sox84-78.519#2#31.0
Houston Astros81-81.500#1N/A-
PCT
winning percentage
Div
division rank
WC
wild card rank
GB
games back

Season Comparison

2026
Chicago White SoxHouston Astros
.726
OPS
.732
211
HR
226
776
Runs
734
4.12
ERA
4.45
1.31
WHIP
1.34
1337
Strikeouts by pitchers
1411

Lower is better for ERA and WHIP; bars show each value against the larger of the two.

Top Players

Across up to five recent games with recorded boxscores.

Chicago White Sox

Hitters

Munetaka Murakami headshot
Munetaka Murakami

6 H, 2 HR, 5 RBI

Kyle Teel headshot
Kyle Teel

6 H, 1 HR, 5 RBI

Brenton Doyle headshot
Brenton Doyle

2 H, 2 HR, 3 RBI

Pitchers

Sean Newcomb headshot
Sean Newcomb

4.1 IP, 6 SO, 0.00 ERA

David Sandlin headshot
David Sandlin

6.0 IP, 7 SO, 1.50 ERA

Sean Burke headshot
Sean Burke

5.1 IP, 7 SO, 1.69 ERA

Houston Astros

Hitters

Lucas Spence headshot
Lucas Spence

6 H, 4 HR, 9 RBI

Christian Walker headshot
Christian Walker

7 H, 3 HR, 4 RBI

Jeremy Peña headshot
Jeremy Peña

7 H, 2 HR, 5 RBI

Pitchers

Miguel Ullola headshot
Miguel Ullola

4.0 IP, 4 SO, 0.00 ERA

Hayden Wesneski headshot
Hayden Wesneski

7.0 IP, 5 SO, 1.29 ERA

Hunter Brown headshot
Hunter Brown

5.1 IP, 4 SO, 1.69 ERA

Top Performers

Picked by MLBDB from this game's box score. MLB's own list of top performers can differ.

Nelson Velázquez headshot
Nelson Velázquez
Houston Astros, MLBDB pick
Grant Taylor headshot
Grant Taylor
Chicago White Sox, MLBDB pick
Miguel Ullola headshot
Miguel Ullola
Houston Astros, MLBDB pick

Line Score

Chicago White Sox 6, Houston Astros 3: CWS 11 hits, HOU 6 hits; CWS 1 error, HOU 1 error.

Runs by inningThen runs (R), hits (H) and errors (E) for the game
Team123456789RHE
Chicago White Sox1201101006111
Houston Astros000020010361

Box Score

Batting

3 players led Chicago White Sox with 2 hits each.

Chicago White Sox batting
PlayerABRHRBIBBSOHR
Sam AntonacciLF3112100
Brenton DoyleCF0000000
Kyle TeelC5010000
Miguel Vargas3B4000110
Munetaka Murakami1B3211120
Andrew BenintendiDH1000110
Randal GrichukPH/DH3020000
Luisangel AcuñaPR/DH0000000
Tristan PetersCF/LF4010010
Braden MontgomeryRF4120020
Chase Meidroth2B4121000
Colson MontgomerySS3111011
Totals346115481

6 players led Houston Astros with 1 hit each.

Houston Astros batting
PlayerABRHRBIBBSOHR
Jeremy PeñaSS4110000
Yordan AlvarezDH4010000
Isaac Paredes3B4010010
Jose Altuve2B4000000
Yainer DiazC4000020
Christian Walker1B2000200
Lucas SpenceCF4110020
Cam SmithRF4010010
Taylor TrammellLF0000000
Nelson VelázquezPH/LF3112011
Totals33362271

Pitching

Hagen Smith went 3.0 innings for Chicago White Sox (1 SO, 0 ER); Miguel Ullola went 3.0 innings for Houston Astros (4 SO, 1 ER).

Pitching lines
PitcherIPHRERBBSOHR
Chicago White Sox
Hagen Smith3.0200010
Jordan Hicks1.1000010
Sean Newcomb1.0222001
David Sandlin1.1000100
Grant Taylor2.1210150
Houston Astros
AJ Blubaugh0.2010300
Bryan King0.1422010
Miguel Ullola3.0111041
Josh Hendrickson1.2311100
Logan VanWey0.1000000
Bennett Sousa1.0211010
Bryan Abreu1.0000010
Josh Hader1.0100010
AB
at-bats
R
runs
H
hits
RBI
runs batted in
BB
walks
SO
strikeouts
HR
home runs
IP
innings pitched
ER
earned runs

Scoring Summary

  • T1

    Sac Fly Munetaka Murakami out on a sacrifice fly to right fielder Cam Smith. Sam Antonacci scores. CWS 1, HOU 0

  • T2

    Single Sam Antonacci singles on a line drive to left fielder Taylor Trammell. Braden Montgomery scores. Chase Meidroth scores. Colson Montgomery to 2nd. CWS 3, HOU 0

  • T4

    Home Run Colson Montgomery homers (1) on a fly ball to center field. CWS 4, HOU 0

  • T5

    Single Chase Meidroth singles on a ground ball to shortstop Jeremy Peña. Munetaka Murakami scores. Tristan Peters to 3rd. Braden Montgomery to 2nd. CWS 5, HOU 0

  • B5

    Home Run Nelson Velázquez homers (1) on a fly ball to left field. Lucas Spence scores. CWS 5, HOU 2

  • T7

    Strikeout Braden Montgomery strikes out swinging. Braden Montgomery to 1st. Wild pitch by pitcher Bennett Sousa. CWS 6, HOU 2

  • B8

    Field Error White Sox challenged (play at 1st), call on the field was upheld: Jose Altuve reaches on a throwing error by third baseman Miguel Vargas. Jeremy Peña scores. Yordan Alvarez to 2nd. CWS 6, HOU 3

Play-by-Play

All 78 recorded plate appearances, newest first.

  • B9

    Groundout Nelson Velázquez grounds out, third baseman Miguel Vargas to first baseman Munetaka Murakami. CWS 6, HOU 3

  • B9

    Strikeout Cam Smith strikes out swinging. CWS 6, HOU 3

  • B9

    Strikeout Lucas Spence strikes out on a foul tip. CWS 6, HOU 3

  • B9

    Walk Christian Walker walks. CWS 6, HOU 3

  • T9

    Flyout Tristan Peters flies out to center fielder Lucas Spence. CWS 6, HOU 3

  • T9

    Single Randal Grichuk singles on a sharp line drive to left fielder Nelson Velázquez. CWS 6, HOU 3

  • T9

    Strikeout Munetaka Murakami strikes out swinging. CWS 6, HOU 3

  • T9

    Groundout Miguel Vargas grounds out, shortstop Jeremy Peña to first baseman Christian Walker. CWS 6, HOU 3

  • B8

    Strikeout Yainer Diaz called out on strikes. CWS 6, HOU 3

  • B8

    Field Error White Sox challenged (play at 1st), call on the field was upheld: Jose Altuve reaches on a throwing error by third baseman Miguel Vargas. Jeremy Peña scores. Yordan Alvarez to 2nd. CWS 6, HOU 3

  • B8

    Strikeout Isaac Paredes strikes out on a foul tip. CWS 6, HOU 2

  • B8

    Single Yordan Alvarez singles on a sharp line drive to right fielder Braden Montgomery. Jeremy Peña to 3rd. CWS 6, HOU 2

  • B8

    Single Jeremy Peña singles on a ground ball to left fielder Tristan Peters. CWS 6, HOU 2

  • B8

    Strikeout Nelson Velázquez called out on strikes. CWS 6, HOU 2

  • T8

    Groundout Kyle Teel grounds out, second baseman Jose Altuve to first baseman Christian Walker. CWS 6, HOU 2

  • T8

    Flyout Sam Antonacci flies out to left fielder Nelson Velázquez. CWS 6, HOU 2

  • T8

    Strikeout Colson Montgomery strikes out swinging. CWS 6, HOU 2

  • B7

    Groundout Cam Smith grounds out softly, pitcher Grant Taylor to first baseman Munetaka Murakami. CWS 6, HOU 2

  • B7

    Groundout Lucas Spence grounds out to pitcher David Sandlin. Christian Walker to 2nd. CWS 6, HOU 2

  • B7

    Walk Christian Walker walks. CWS 6, HOU 2

  • B7

    Lineout Yainer Diaz lines out to center fielder Tristan Peters. CWS 6, HOU 2

  • T7

    Grounded Into DP Chase Meidroth grounds into a double play, second baseman Jose Altuve to shortstop Jeremy Peña to first baseman Christian Walker. Braden Montgomery out at 2nd. Chase Meidroth out at 1st. CWS 6, HOU 2

  • T7

    Strikeout Braden Montgomery strikes out swinging. Braden Montgomery to 1st. Wild pitch by pitcher Bennett Sousa. CWS 6, HOU 2

  • T7

    Sac Bunt Tristan Peters out on a sacrifice bunt, third baseman Isaac Paredes to second baseman Jose Altuve. Munetaka Murakami to 3rd. Randal Grichuk to 2nd. CWS 5, HOU 2

  • T7

    Single Randal Grichuk singles on a line drive to center fielder Lucas Spence. Munetaka Murakami to 2nd. CWS 5, HOU 2

  • T7

    Single Munetaka Murakami singles on a line drive to left fielder Nelson Velázquez. CWS 5, HOU 2

  • B6

    Flyout Jose Altuve flies out to right fielder Braden Montgomery. CWS 5, HOU 2

  • B6

    Groundout Isaac Paredes grounds out, first baseman Munetaka Murakami to pitcher David Sandlin. CWS 5, HOU 2

  • B6

    Groundout Yordan Alvarez grounds out, second baseman Chase Meidroth to first baseman Munetaka Murakami. CWS 5, HOU 2

  • T6

    Flyout Miguel Vargas flies out to center fielder Lucas Spence. CWS 5, HOU 2

  • T6

    Grounded Into DP Kyle Teel grounds into a double play, shortstop Jeremy Peña to first baseman Christian Walker. Sam Antonacci out at 2nd. Kyle Teel out at 1st. CWS 5, HOU 2

  • T6

    Hit By Pitch Sam Antonacci hit by pitch. CWS 5, HOU 2

  • B5

    Pop Out Jeremy Peña pops out to first baseman Munetaka Murakami in foul territory. CWS 5, HOU 2

  • B5

    Home Run Nelson Velázquez homers (1) on a fly ball to left field. Lucas Spence scores. CWS 5, HOU 2

  • B5

    Flyout Cam Smith flies out to center fielder Tristan Peters. CWS 5, HOU 0

  • B5

    Single Lucas Spence singles on a ground ball to left fielder Sam Antonacci, deflected by third baseman Miguel Vargas. CWS 5, HOU 0

  • B5

    Groundout Christian Walker grounds out, shortstop Colson Montgomery to first baseman Munetaka Murakami. CWS 5, HOU 0

  • T5

    Grounded Into DP Colson Montgomery grounds into a double play, shortstop Jeremy Peña to first baseman Christian Walker. Chase Meidroth out at 2nd. Colson Montgomery out at 1st. CWS 5, HOU 0

  • T5

    Single Chase Meidroth singles on a ground ball to shortstop Jeremy Peña. Munetaka Murakami scores. Tristan Peters to 3rd. Braden Montgomery to 2nd. CWS 5, HOU 0

  • T5

    Single Braden Montgomery singles on a line drive to right fielder Cam Smith. Munetaka Murakami to 3rd. Tristan Peters to 2nd. CWS 4, HOU 0

  • T5

    Single Tristan Peters singles on a ground ball to left fielder Taylor Trammell. Munetaka Murakami to 2nd. CWS 4, HOU 0

  • T5

    Lineout Randal Grichuk lines out to center fielder Lucas Spence. CWS 4, HOU 0

  • T5

    Walk Munetaka Murakami walks. CWS 4, HOU 0

  • B4

    Strikeout Yainer Diaz strikes out swinging. CWS 4, HOU 0

  • B4

    Pop Out Jose Altuve pops out to first baseman Munetaka Murakami. CWS 4, HOU 0

  • B4

    Flyout Isaac Paredes flies out to left fielder Sam Antonacci. CWS 4, HOU 0

  • T4

    Strikeout Miguel Vargas called out on strikes. CWS 4, HOU 0

  • T4

    Flyout Kyle Teel flies out to center fielder Lucas Spence. CWS 4, HOU 0

  • T4

    Groundout White Sox challenged (shift violation), call on the field was upheld: Sam Antonacci grounds out, second baseman Jose Altuve to first baseman Christian Walker. CWS 4, HOU 0

  • T4

    Home Run Colson Montgomery homers (1) on a fly ball to center field. CWS 4, HOU 0

  • B3

    Groundout Yordan Alvarez grounds out, third baseman Miguel Vargas to first baseman Munetaka Murakami. CWS 3, HOU 0

  • B3

    Lineout Jeremy Peña lines out to center fielder Tristan Peters. Cam Smith to 3rd. CWS 3, HOU 0

  • B3

    Sac Bunt Taylor Trammell out on a sacrifice bunt, pitcher Hagen Smith to first baseman Munetaka Murakami. Cam Smith to 2nd. CWS 3, HOU 0

  • B3

    Single Cam Smith singles on a ground ball to right fielder Braden Montgomery. CWS 3, HOU 0

  • T3

    Lineout Chase Meidroth lines out to third baseman Isaac Paredes. CWS 3, HOU 0

  • T3

    Strikeout Braden Montgomery strikes out swinging. CWS 3, HOU 0

  • T3

    Pop Out Tristan Peters pops out to third baseman Isaac Paredes in foul territory. CWS 3, HOU 0

  • B2

    Strikeout Lucas Spence strikes out swinging. CWS 3, HOU 0

  • B2

    Groundout Christian Walker grounds out, shortstop Colson Montgomery to first baseman Munetaka Murakami. CWS 3, HOU 0

  • B2

    Groundout Yainer Diaz grounds out, third baseman Miguel Vargas to first baseman Munetaka Murakami. CWS 3, HOU 0

  • T2

    Strikeout Andrew Benintendi strikes out swinging. CWS 3, HOU 0

  • T2

    Strikeout Munetaka Murakami strikes out swinging. CWS 3, HOU 0

  • T2

    Forceout Miguel Vargas grounds into a force out, third baseman Isaac Paredes to catcher Yainer Diaz. Colson Montgomery out at home. Sam Antonacci to 3rd. Kyle Teel to 2nd. Miguel Vargas to 1st. CWS 3, HOU 0

  • T2

    Single Kyle Teel singles on a sharp line drive to right fielder Cam Smith. Colson Montgomery to 3rd. Sam Antonacci to 2nd. CWS 3, HOU 0

  • T2

    Single Sam Antonacci singles on a line drive to left fielder Taylor Trammell. Braden Montgomery scores. Chase Meidroth scores. Colson Montgomery to 2nd. CWS 3, HOU 0

  • T2

    Hit By Pitch Colson Montgomery hit by pitch. Braden Montgomery to 3rd. Chase Meidroth to 2nd. CWS 1, HOU 0

  • T2

    Single Chase Meidroth singles on a ground ball to right fielder Cam Smith. Braden Montgomery to 2nd. CWS 1, HOU 0

  • T2

    Single Braden Montgomery singles on a ground ball to right fielder Cam Smith. CWS 1, HOU 0

  • B1

    Forceout Jose Altuve grounds into a force out, shortstop Colson Montgomery to second baseman Chase Meidroth. Isaac Paredes out at 2nd. CWS 1, HOU 0

  • B1

    Single Isaac Paredes singles on a line drive to center fielder Tristan Peters. CWS 1, HOU 0

  • B1

    Groundout Yordan Alvarez grounds out, second baseman Chase Meidroth to first baseman Munetaka Murakami. CWS 1, HOU 0

  • B1

    Groundout Jeremy Peña grounds out, third baseman Miguel Vargas to first baseman Munetaka Murakami. CWS 1, HOU 0

  • T1

    Strikeout Tristan Peters strikes out on a foul tip. CWS 1, HOU 0

  • T1

    Walk Andrew Benintendi walks. Miguel Vargas to 2nd. CWS 1, HOU 0

  • T1

    Sac Fly Munetaka Murakami out on a sacrifice fly to right fielder Cam Smith. Sam Antonacci scores. CWS 1, HOU 0

  • T1

    Walk Miguel Vargas walks. CWS 0, HOU 0

  • T1

    Groundout Kyle Teel grounds out to first baseman Christian Walker. Throwing error by first baseman Christian Walker. CWS 0, HOU 0

  • T1

    Walk Sam Antonacci walks. CWS 0, HOU 0