White Sox advance in MLB playoffs as Cubs are eliminated
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Randal Grichuk celebrates with teammates after the White Sox defeated the Houston Astros on Wednesday. Photo: Connor Jalbert/MLB Photos via Getty Images
The White Sox wasted little time punching their ticket to the divisional round with back-to-back wins over the Houston Astros, while the Cubs' season sputtered to an end with a quick exit in San Diego.
Why it matters: Dreams of a crosstown World Series are dashed.
The big picture: For the White Sox, they flat-out dominated the Astros, leading in all 18 innings of the series.
- Manager Will Venable masterfully worked the bullpen — and on-again, off-again starter Eric Fedde — to shut down the AL West champs.
- Chase Meidroth played hero with a clutch three-run homer in the sixth inning to seal the win for the South Siders.
Zoom in: The Sox are on a historic run after losing 100 games each of the three previous seasons.
By the numbers: The Sox waited 21 years between playoff series wins. Their last one came against these same Astros, when they swept Houston to win the 2005 World Series.
- Since that championship, the Sox have made the playoffs just three times (2008, 2020 and 2021), losing their opening series each time.
What's next: The Sox head to Cleveland for Game 1 of the best-of-five ALDS on Saturday. They'll play at least one game at Rate Field on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, it was a disappointing end for the Cubs, whose bats went ice cold at the worst possible moment in back-to-back losses to the Padres in San Diego.
- They lost last night 4-1 and were outscored 12-1 in the series.
State of play: The Cubs struggled down the stretch and surrendered their home-field advantage in the Wild Card round, ultimately leaving Wrigley Field without playoff baseball.
Zoom out: The loss leaves a sour taste after last year's playoff run, with Cubs fans hoping offseason moves and an MVP-caliber season from Pete Crow-Armstrong would propel them deeper into the postseason.
The bottom line: October belongs to the South Side now.