White Sox sweep the Astros into the ALDS as the Phillies force Game 3 on Bohm’s 10th-inning homer
Chicago beat Houston 7-3 to win its first postseason series since 2005 and set up an ALDS with Cleveland, while Philadelphia edged Atlanta 4-3 in 10 innings to stay alive. Yankees-Red Sox and Cubs-Padres were still to finish Wednesday night.
White Sox 7, Astros 3: The White Sox completed a two-game sweep of the Astros at Daikin Park on Wednesday, according to MLB.com’s official box score and CBS Sports. Chicago scored four runs in the first inning and knocked Houston starter Hunter Brown out after two outs and 36 pitches, USA Today reported. Jeremy Peña, Cam Smith and Jose Altuve hit solo homers to pull Houston within 4-3; Altuve’s was the 28th postseason home run of his career, one behind Manny Ramírez’s record, per USA Today.
Chase Meidroth broke it open with a three-run homer in the sixth, his first in the postseason, USA Today reported. Starter Sean Burke struck out eight over four innings, and the bullpen held Houston scoreless the rest of the way, the box score shows. The win is the White Sox’s first postseason series victory since they swept Houston in the 2005 World Series, USA Today noted. Chicago now faces the AL Central champion Guardians, the No. 2 seed, in the Division Series starting Saturday, CBS Sports reported.
Phillies 4, Braves 3 (10 innings): Alec Bohm hit a two-out home run in the 10th inning at Truist Park to force a deciding Game 3 in the NL Wild Card Series, the Associated Press and MLB.com reported. Bohm’s 357-foot drive to right came off Didier Fuentes (0-1), per AP.
Atlanta led 3-1 after a two-run seventh: Drake Baldwin’s double glanced off Bryce Harper’s glove in right field to score Sean Murphy — Harper was not charged with an error — and Matt Olson added a sacrifice fly, AP reported. Kyle Schwarber and Harper answered with back-to-back homers off Dylan Lee to open the eighth, Schwarber’s traveling a projected 447 feet, according to MLB.com.
Rookie Andrew Painter (1-0), a starter during the regular season, threw three scoreless innings in relief. The game ended when catcher J.T. Realmuto won an automated ball-strike (ABS) challenge to strike out Dominic Smith with two runners on — the first game-ending ABS challenge in postseason history, MLB.com reported. Postseason extra innings use traditional rules, with no automatic runner on second base, AP noted.
Game 3 is Thursday in Atlanta — at 2 p.m. ET if another Wild Card Series also goes the distance, or at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock if it is the only series left, MLB.com said. The winner meets the Dodgers in the NL Division Series.
Where things stand: After Wednesday’s early games, the White Sox are through and Phillies-Braves is tied 1-1. The Yankees, 9-0 winners in Game 1, began Game 2 against the Red Sox at 8 p.m. ET, and the Padres, who won Game 1 8-0, host the Cubs at 10 p.m. ET; both can clinch with a win, CBS Sports reported. Those results were not yet in when this edition was filed.
What this means: One more October story gets a new chapter: a White Sox team that reached the playoffs after back-to-back 100-loss seasons has now won a round. And the best-of-three format guarantees at least one winner-take-all game Thursday.
Sources
- MLB.com — Gameday: White Sox 7, Astros 3 final box score (Sept. 30, 2026)
- CBS Sports — White Sox vs. Astros box score, Sept. 30, 2026
- USA Today — White Sox vs Astros live updates: MLB playoffs wild card Game 2
- MLB.com — Backs to wall, resilient Phils force Game 3 on Bohm’s 10th-inning drive
- The Boston Globe (AP) — Alec Bohm homers in extra innings to help Phillies beat Braves in Game 2
- CBS Sports — 2026 MLB playoff bracket: Scores, schedule, where to watch