SportStrata Stories · MLB · 2026 ALDS
From 121 losses to 3-0 in October: the White Sox have yet to lose
Chicago has won all 3 of its postseason games on the road, and its bullpen has recorded 52 of the 81 outs.
In the 2024 season the Chicago White Sox went 41-121, the fewest wins of the league's 30 teams. They improved to 60-102 in the 2025 season and to 84-78 in the 2026 season, enough for an American League Wild Card spot, 1 game behind Cleveland in the AL Central. That is a 43-win climb in 2 years.
October has gone better still. Chicago is 3-0 this postseason, and all 3 wins came on the road: a Wild Card Series sweep at Houston, then a shutout of Cleveland in Game 1 of the ALDS. The White Sox have outscored their opponents 16-6.
Game by game
- Wild Card Series, Game 1: won 6-3 at Houston
- Wild Card Series, Game 2: won 7-3 at Houston
- ALDS, Game 1: won 3-0 at Cleveland, with Munetaka Murakami homering and driving in 2 of the 3 runs
The bullpen is carrying it
Across the 3 games, Chicago's pitchers have recorded 81 outs and allowed 6 runs, 5 of them earned, a 1.67 ERA. In the regular season the staff's ERA was 4.12, close to the league-wide 4.17.
The starters have worked on short leashes. Hagen Smith started both Game 1s, at Houston and at Cleveland, and did not allow a run in either, but he recorded only 17 outs combined. The starters account for 29 outs in all. The bullpen has recorded the other 52, allowing 3 runs, 2 of them earned.
Grant Taylor has been the centerpiece: 19 outs across 2 appearances, 11 strikeouts, no earned runs, and the save at Cleveland, where he pitched the final 4 innings.
Not quite an upset
The record suggests a long shot, but the run differentials do not. Chicago's +56 in the regular season was 5th in the American League, well ahead of the 2 division winners it has beaten: Cleveland at +11 and Houston at -32.
The caveat
This is 3 games. In the regular season the White Sox allowed 4.44 runs per game; in October they have allowed 2. A bullpen that has thrown 52 outs in 3 games is also a bullpen being leaned on hard, and the ALDS resumes with Game 2 at Cleveland on Monday. What can be said with confidence is narrower: 2 years after the fewest wins in the majors, Chicago has not lost a postseason game, and its relievers are the reason.
Written with AI assistance from SportStrata's own data; every number above is listed with its source in this story's data file. See the data behind this story.