White Sox' Biggest Advantage Against the Astros (and Their Biggest Concern)
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The Chicago White Sox have made the playoffs for the first time since 2021 and will face the Houston Astros in the American League Wild Card series. This series will tell a lot about where the White Sox are in their quest to win a World Series with their current core.
The Astros became the first team in MLB history to make the postseason without a winning record. However, the White Sox were still 2-5 against the Astros in the 2026 regular-season series. So, going into this series, what is Chicago's biggest advantage and biggest concern against Houston?
Biggest Advantage: Offense Against Houston's Pitching Staff
Chicago's biggest advantage throughout the season has been its offense, scoring the most runs in the American League by a wide margin, with 776. While Houston hit the most home runs in baseball with 226, they had issues scoring with runners on.
The reason this matters is that Houston's pitching staff, despite being injured for much of the season, had the fourth-worst ERA in the American League at 4.45 and the worst among MLB playoff teams. That alone bodes well for the White Sox. However, Houston's pitching staff is getting back to full strength, with Hunter Brown, Hayden Wesneski, and others back healthy.
The White Sox' offense, led by Miguel Vargas, Munetaka Murakami, and others, will be key in winning this series, especially the left-handed hitting. Astros expected starters are Brown, Wesneski and Peter Lambert, who are all right-handers. The left-handed hitters will be crucial in getting to these starters early and often.
One thing the White Sox do not want to do is wait until the starters are out to score runs. With six-time All-Star Josh Hader as a closer, who had a 1.01 ERA in 45 games with 26 saves in as many opportunities, it will be difficult to score runs late.
Biggest Concern: Starting Pitching and Containing Yordan Alvarez
While the Astros had the worst ERA by a wide margin against playoff teams, the White Sox had a 4.12 ERA, tied for the second-worst among playoff teams with the Chicago Cubs. Much of that was the late-season ineffectiveness of Chicago's starting pitching. And it isn't getting any better.
With much of the starting staff breezing past their previous career highs in innings, comes the need for rest. With ace Sean Burke pitching on Friday, Chicago's Game 1 starter is up in the air. The White Sox could start Burke on short rest, but that would likely be the wrong decision.
Davis Martin didn't get through an inning on Saturday and has become a major concern in an already weak starting rotation. It looks as if Erick Fedde will be on the mound for Game 1, who has been good this season, but is by no means a typical Game 1 starter. The rotation is a significant weakness for the White Sox.
But there looms an even bigger concern: Containing presumptive AL MVP Yordan Alvarez. The Astros slugger nearly won the Triple Crown with 42 home runs, a .316 batting average, and 106 runs driven in with a 1.033 OPS. While Alvarez went just 4-for-20 against Chicago in the regular season, he has been elite in the playoffs, hitting 12 home runs in 60 postseason games.
The White Sox must treat every at-bat with Alvarez as the most important one of the game. With few outstanding hitters behind Alvarez, he should be the main focus every game. As the White Sox look to win their first postseason series since their 2005 World Series run, this will be crucial to figure out.
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Matthew Singer is a contributor for White Sox on SI. Before joining SI in 2026, he worked for Heavy as an MLB contributor and Cubs on SI. Singer has a master's degree in sports journalism from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. He loves sports more than anything in the world.