White Sox Key to Beating Astros in Wild Card Series

The MLB playoffs are here. And at 4 p.m. Central Time on Tuesday, the Chicago White Sox and Houston Astros will get underway in a best-of-three Wild Card Series.

It's the first postseason appearance for the White Sox since 2021, and just the organization's 12th trip to the postseason in over 125 years of existence. So naturally, this one holds a little extra weight for White Sox fans, who have been starved for meaningful baseball over the last few years.

Nothing is guaranteed in sports. The White Sox may have a promising and bright future, but as we saw with this club the last time around in 2021, a young playoff team is never guaranteed future opportunities at a World Series title.

Making the playoffs after three consecutive 100-loss seasons is a remarkable feat. But now it's about advancing. Win a series, make some noise and creep closer to the World Series.

The White Sox have an on-paper advantage over an 81-81 Astros team that limped into the playoffs and became the first team in MLB history to make the postseason without finishing above .500 over a full 162-game season.

But then again, Chicago is on the road. They're inexperienced, and the Astros have been a franchise that has had their number.

When I look at this specific matchup and how the White Sox can win the series, there is one specific key that jumps out.

The White Sox need to score first. Getting ahead and staying ahead has been the recipe for this team all year long.

We've seen starting pitching issues plague the White Sox when they don't get quality innings from the rotation. We've seen openers allow crooked numbers in the first inning, putting the White Sox behind the eight ball before the game really starts.

This is an explosive offense, one that can carry the team on an extended run if some of the middle-of-the-order bats are swinging it well. But at times, we've seen the White Sox fall behind early, try to stage a comeback and end up with too many hitters trying to do too much at the plate.

It will be a bullpen effort in Game 1 of the series in Houston, with the White Sox deploying an unconventional pitching strategy overall. They'll be throwing the kitchen sink at the Astros rather than simply lining up a starting pitcher each day and hoping to get a quality start.

On Tuesday, for example, if the White Sox can get quality innings from Hagen Smith at the start of the game and take an early lead, they'll have all the momentum. Manager Will Venable will also feel more comfortable going to his lights-out relievers earlier in the game to really put things on ice.

If the White Sox fall behind, though, you may see a young and inexperienced offense begin to press. It also creates a difficult situation for Venable, who then has to weigh how to deploy his pitching staff.

Do you use your best arms to try to keep the game close, or do you save them in case the offense comes back to take the lead?

In addition, you've got an Astros team on the other side that probably doesn't belong in the playoffs. At 81-81, Houston probably has tempered expectations for what's possible this postseason. And I firmly believe that the White Sox are the better team.

But this is the Astros we're talking about, one of the most consistently successful organizations of the last decade and a team that is regularly in the playoffs. They have experience. They've been there before. And if they get out of the gate with an early lead, that swagger could start to take over the series.

It probably sounds very simple. Being the first team to score is always a good idea, so it's not exactly some revelation to say that it's a key to the game. But for a White Sox team that doesn't have the experience, doesn't have reliable starting pitching and doesn't have home-field advantage, momentum is their greatest weapon.

Getting ahead early is going to be the key to Chicago winning these games and, ultimately, winning the series.