Former UConn Huskies pitcher Anthony Kay put an exclamation point on his comeback Major League Baseball season on Sunday as his Chicago White Sox head to the playoffs.

Kay was the winning pitcher in Chicago’s 4-2 win over the visiting Colorado Rockies. He threw five innings and allowed one run on five hits with two walks and four strikeouts.

The 31-year-old finished the regular season with a 10-9 record and a 4.44 ERA in 33 appearances (31 starts). In 158 innings, he struck out 129 batters.

He became the fourth former Huskies pitcher to win 10 games in a major league season, reported the X account Huskies in the Pros.

Now, he will be taking the field in his first-ever MLB postseason with a franchise that lost at least 100 games in each of the past three seasons. With a dugout filled with young position players, no one anticipated in the preseason that the White Sox would be playing in October.

"I don't think anyone really expected it," Kay said postgame on Sunday. "I think we had a vision and we executed it. But I don't think anyone saw the kind of success that we had, and I think it was really fun to be a part of. Hopefully we can continue it as long as possible."

At UConn, Kay posted a 22-12 record with a 2.64 ERA over three seasons (2014-16) with the Huskies. He struck out 263 batters in 286 innings. Coming out of high school on Long Island in New York, the Mets selected him in the 29th round of the 2013 MLB Draft.

He chose UConn instead, and the Mets drafted him again in 2016, this time in the first round with the 31st overall pick. He was a second-team All-American and earned American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year honors in 2016.

Kay and George Springer of the Toronto Blue Jays are the two most prominent former Huskies currently in the majors.

At the trade deadline in 2019, the Mets traded Kay and fellow pitcher Simeon Woods-Richardson to the Toronto Blue Jays for pitcher Marcus Stroman and cash.

After parts of four seasons with the Blue Jays, he was waived by Toronto in late 2022 and selected by the Chicago Cubs. He was waived, again, by the Cubs and wound up back in the Mets organization. After the end of the 2023 season, he was granted free agency.

When he didn’t find a new MLB home, he went to Japan, where he had a chance to pitch two full seasons. He was 15-15 with a 2.53 ERA, striking out 249 batters over 291 2/3 innings.

Last December, the White Sox signed Kay to a two-year, $12 million contract that includes a team option year for 2028.

The White Sox (84-78) open the best-of-three wild-card series on Tuesday in Houston, where they will meet the Astros (81-81). All three games – if a third is necessary – will be played at 5 p.m. ET in Houston. Peacock and NBC Sports Network will carry the games.

The winner will face the Cleveland Guardians (85-77) in the American League Division Series beginning next weekend.

Kay’s role for the opening series has not been defined. After throwing 74 pitches on Sunday, it’s unlikely manager Will Venable will include him in pitching plans for Tuesday. It’s possible he could be used in relief – or perhaps, as an opener – on Wednesday. Venable has employed an opener several times down the stretch run.

If Kay does not pitch in the first two games, and if a third is needed, he could be available to start or pitch in long relief on Thursday.