A young White Sox crew stun the Astros
White Sox won their first postseason series since 2005
HOUSTON – As the White Sox celebrated, the visitor’s clubhouse at Daikin Park was inaudible. Houston native Jordan Hicks lifted a giant speaker and blasted music throughout the clubhouse to amp up his teammates.
Cheers echoed through the visitors’ clubhouse as champagne showers covered the premises.
Chicago’s celebration resembled a college fraternity party. With dim lighting, a series of dance circles appeared while everyone drenched the performers with spirits. Brenton Doyle hopped on top of a table and shouted words that revamped the festivities.
That brotherhood atmosphere isn’t anything new for the young Chicago team. White Sox second baseman Chase Meidroth compared the collectiveness of this team to a college fraternity, a fair comparison as the White Sox are one of the youngest teams this postseason.
“But yeah, going back to a lot of the comments that we talk about, this is kind of like a fraternity and a college team is very much true,” Meidroth said. “The belief here is so strong.
“Everything we do is for the boys. We are playing to win the game, and we all love each other.”
Cool and collected
The White Sox won their first postseason series since Chicago swept the Astros in four games of the 2005 World Series. A first-year manager, Will Venable, and a lineup with only two players with postseason experience outplayed the experienced Astros staff.
Chicago didn’t seem to let the nerves get the best of them. They started both games scoring in the first inning. The White Sox came out aggressive on Hunter Brown’s fastball and tagged him for four runs in the first. The Astros’ ace threw only two-thirds of an inning on 36 pitches.
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The Astros chipped away hitting three solo home runs to bring the game within one. However Chase Meidroth, who has Mexican roots from his maternal grandmother, unloaded on a hanging curveball by reliever Bryan Abreu for a three-run home run in the sixth inning.
The 36,015 depleted fans went silent. The crowd seemed stunned as the momentum shifted to the opposing team. Chants of “Let’s go, Sox!” rung from the stands by the visiting dugout as the second-year infielder rounded the bases.
“I think the good thing about our team is that no one really gets worked up or nervous,” veteran outfielder Andrew Benintendi said. “There wasn’t really much to say, everyone knows the stakes. We just have to keep playing our game.
“A couple guys have spoken about our team saying we are just a bunch of idiots playing baseball together and having fun. That’s kind of what we’ve been doing all year. For us to come in here and take two, it’s really big for us.”
Youth Movement
The White Sox will face division rivals Cleveland Guardian in the ALDS. Chicago once again will have to win on the road in front of thousands of antagonizing fans. Nonetheless this Chicago squad is confident they can make a run in the postseason.
“We got all nine players who at any point can do damage,” Havana native Miguel Vargas said. “I feel this is a great group of guys. We got each other’s back and we go and compete every nine innings.
“We are very hungry. We want to prove that we deserve to be in this spot right now. I think we did a really good job. We trust each other and got a good result.
The youth movement in Chicago plans to continue to open many eyes this post season. The way the camaraderie is with this group, surely this team believes good results will continue to happen.

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