The Aporia · With their playoff slump broken and a pope on their side, the White Sox want more this October

With their playoff slump broken and a pope on their side, the White Sox want more this October

Read the original at Toronto Star ↗

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APA MLA Chicago

Rieken, K. (2026, October 1). With their playoff slump broken and a pope on their side, the White Sox want more this October. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/sports/baseball/with-their-playoff-slump-broken-and-a-pope-on-their-side-the-white-sox-want-more-this-october/article_a70d68ff-aaec-5cdc-9531-2d860470f855.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Quick Summary

Chicago White Sox manager Will Venable expressed his team's ambition to advance further in the playoffs after they won their first series since 2005 by sweeping the Houston Astros in the AL Wild Card Series. The victory, secured with a 7-3 win on Thursday, marks an impressive turnaround for the franchise, which had lost over 100 games each of the last three seasons before making a 24-game improvement to clinch a wildcard spot this year. Owner Jerry Reinsdorf acknowledged the unexpected rapid rise, crediting general manager Chris Getz’s trades and the team's newfound belief and energy for their success.

Written by AI on 2026-10-01, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

The Houston Astros and the Chicago White Sox, two unlikely playoff teams with remarkable turnaround stories, faced off in a best-of-three AL Wild Card Series starting on Tuesday in Houston. The Astros clinched their division title despite ending the regular season at exactly .500 (81-81), marking them as baseball’s first such division winner. In contrast, the White Sox overcame losing 100 games each of the last three seasons to secure a playoff spot.

In Game 1 on Tuesday, the White Sox took an early lead with four runs in the first inning and won 6-3 despite the Astros employing a bullpen game strategy led by AJ Blumbaugh. The announced attendance was sparse at 34,011, leading to fan frustration among the players who heard boos throughout the game.

The White Sox continued their strong performance on Wednesday, sweeping the series with a 7-3 victory in Game 2. This marked Chicago's first playoff series win since 2005 and advanced them to face the AL Central champion Cleveland Guardians in the Division Series starting Saturday in Cleveland.

Despite Houston’s playoff woes at home—dropping their ninth straight home playoff game—they expressed disappointment over fan support, with players like Bennett Sousa feeling that they needed more encouragement from their audience. Manager Will Venable of the White Sox praised his team for maintaining belief and achieving a historic turnaround to clinch this victory.

Written for “White Sox Playoff Run” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 16 other(s) covering the same event.

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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

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Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

0 of 26 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

not political

takes no side on a contested political question

Publisher signals

64/100

Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

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articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-10-01 · how these are computed

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Publisher

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Who wrote this

Kristie Rieken

30 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

🔮 “Can’t give up some of those runs ... with this type of defense that we have, you almost have to be perfect,” defensive end Will Anderson said.

2026-10-26 · assertive framing · The Texans struggle defensively again in 27-21 overtime loss to Giants

🔮 Stroud will also get one of his favorite playmakers back with Tank Dell set to play in his first game in almost two years after recovering from a gruesome knee injury.

2026-10-22 · assertive framing · C.J. Stroud powers Houston Texans vs New York Giants as J.J. McCarthy starts

🔮 Houston’s normally fearsome pass rush led by defensive ends Will Anderson Jr., who leads the NFL with 7 1/2 sacks, and Danielle Hunter was shut down on Sunday.

2026-10-19 · assertive framing · Texans savor a thrilling London win, but coach DeMeco Ryans says the climb is just starting

🔮 Ryans said Harrison should arrive in Houston on Monday and they will try to get him acclimated quickly so he can help this week.

2026-10-12 · assertive framing · Texans land Marvin Harrison Jr. after first win, aiming for a quick impact

🔮 “I definitely think it’s a form of fear because the thought of what everybody else around them would think,” Montgomery said.

2026-10-06 · assertive framing · Montgomery’s scouting pride: Texans back hopes his story will inspire more kids like him to join

🔮 “You’ve just got to finish, lock in, do your job,” defensive end Will Anderson said.

2026-10-05 · assertive framing · An 0-4 hole and another fourth-quarter collapse: What’s breaking down for the Texans

🔮 “It’s frustrating, but it’s the NFL,” defensive end Will Anderson said.

2026-10-05 · assertive framing · Texans' misery deepens: CeeDee Lamb’s late TD seals Cowboys’ win, drops Houston to 0-4

🔮 Javonte Williams ran for a career-high three touchdowns — all in the second half — to help the Cowboys to the victory.

2026-10-04 · assertive framing · CeeDee Lamb’s late TD caps a wild Cowboys rally to beat winless Texans 34-30

🔮 If he plays Sunday, it will be his first action of the season after he was inactive for the first three games while upset about his contract situation and dealing with a back issue.

2026-10-04 · assertive framing · Joey Porter Jr. active for Cowboys days after trade, eyeing first action of season

🔮 The takeaway The Razorbacks have trouble on both sides of the ball and will have to clean up their problems quickly if they hope to avoid another bad season after going 2-10 last year.

2026-10-04 · assertive framing · Texas A&M powers past Arkansas 34-7 behind KJ Edwards’ 2 TDs

Also by Kristie Rieken

The Texans struggle defensively again in 27-21 overtime loss to Giants

2026-10-25 · Toronto Star

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2026-10-22 · Toronto Star

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2026-10-19 · Toronto Star

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 30 articles by Kristie Rieken →

Topics

Chicago Chicago White Sox Cleveland HOUSTON The White Sox

Subjects

The White Sox ORG · 6× Chicago GPE · 4× Meidroth PERSON · 3× Cleveland ORG · 2× HOUSTON GPE · 2× Venable PERSON · 2× Chase Meidroth PERSON · 1× Chicago White Sox ORG · 1× Will Venable PERSON · 1× the Houston Astros ORG · 1×

Narrative

“And it’s such a storied franchise and Jerry puts so much into this team, loves this team so much, and to be able to reward him and the city of Chicago who have been in our corner and supported us from day one that I’ve been there

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-01

🔮 HOUSTON (AP) — Chicago White Sox manager Will Venable was already looking ahead just minutes after his team won its first playoff series in 21 years by sweeping the Houston Astros in their AL Wild Card Series.

2026-10-01 · Toronto Star

With their playoff slump broken and a pope on their side, the White Sox want more this October · assertive framing

Claims (26 extracted, 0 hedged)

HOUSTON (AP) — Chicago White Sox manager Will Venable was already looking ahead just minutes after his team won its first playoff series in 21 years by sweeping the Houston Astros in their AL Wild Card Series. asserted

team → look → Series

“I can tell you right now that the group isn’t satisfied with this,” he said. asserted

he → tell → this

The White Sox used a big first inning and a three-run homer from Chase Meidroth to propel them to a 7-3 victory and series win. asserted

Sox → use → victory

It’s the first time Chicago has won a playoff series since beating Houston in the World Series in 2005. asserted

Chicago → ’ → 2005

Under the direction of Venable, the second-year skipper, and with a letter of support from Pope Leo XIV, the White Sox advanced to face AL Central champion Cleveland in the AL Division Series beginning Saturday in Cleveland. asserted

Sox → advance → Cleveland

They’re thrilled to give their fans in Chicago at least a couple of home playoff games after playing their first two postseason games on the road. asserted

They → ’re → road

“They have been incredible all year,” Meidroth said. asserted

Meidroth → say → ?

“So, the main thing was getting back to Chicago for some postseason baseball, and so we’re really blessed that we get to do that.” asserted

we → get → that

The White Sox, who lost 100 games in each of the last three seasons, are the only team in major league history to follow consecutive 100-loss seasons with a playoff berth. asserted

who → lose → berth

It’s an improbable and swift turnaround that most people — not even owner Jerry Reinsdorf — saw coming. asserted

people → ’ → ?

“I didn’t think it would come to fruition this fast, I really didn’t,” he told reporters postgame. asserted

he → think → reporters

“I really thought 2027 was the year that we would contend. asserted

we → think → ?

But nobody told the players that they couldn’t do it.” asserted

they → tell → it

The White Sox were expected to be the worst team in their division again this season but instead made a 24-game jump to go 84-78 and capture a wild-card playoff spot. asserted

Sox → expect → spot

Meidroth shared the important qualities that allowed them to defy expectations. asserted

them → share → expectations

“Belief, energy, those are the two things,” he said. asserted

he → say → ?

We got a young, hungry group, some veteran guys that we lean on. asserted

we → get → that

We believe we can win every game.” asserted

we → believe → game

Entering this season, it had been an awful stretch for the White Sox, who set the record for most losses since 1899 when they dropped 121 games in 2024. asserted

they → enter → 2024

It was a year that Reinsdorf reflected on as “depressing” on Wednesday night. asserted

Reinsdorf → reflect → night

He lauded the work general manager Chris Getz did to build a strong foundation for the team to grow. asserted

team → laud → foundation

And pointed to the blockbuster trade of left-hander Garrett Crochet to the Boston Red Sox after that dreadful season that netted them Meidroth, catcher Kyle Teel and outfielder Braden Montgomery as a turning point. asserted

that → point → point

Venable, the 43-year-old who is in his first managerial role, is glad to have helped bring the White Sox back to respectability after their years in baseball’s basement. asserted

who → help → basement

“I’m really proud and I’m really just happy for everybody who over the last few years had experienced White Sox baseball when it obviously wasn’t at its best,” he said. asserted

he → ’m → best

I → ’ → day

, it just feels really good.” asserted

it → feel → ?