The Chicago White Sox clinched a 2026 postseason berth on Thursday, Sept. 24, with a 9-1 win over the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium, the Associated Press reported. The win guaranteed Chicago at least one of the American League's three wild-card spots and eliminated the Baltimore Orioles.
It is the White Sox's first playoff berth since 2021, and it comes two years after a 41-121 season set the modern MLB record for losses. According to the AP, the White Sox are the first team in major league history to reach the postseason after back-to-back 100-loss seasons. They lost 100 or more in each of the three seasons before this one.
The clincher
Chicago led 3-0 after the first inning and 6-0 after the second. Kyle Teel homered and reached base five times, and Miguel Vargas drove in runs with two singles. Five different White Sox had RBIs. Starter David Sandlin (3-2), whom the Royals drafted out of Oklahoma, allowed one run on five hits over six innings. Kansas City starter Randy Dobnak (3-5) gave up six runs, four earned, and got only four outs. Salvador Perez homered for the Royals, his 20th of the season, per the AP.
The win moved the White Sox to 82-77. The AP says that is the most wins ever by a team coming off three straight 100-loss seasons.
From 121 losses
The White Sox went 61-101 in 2023, 41-121 in 2024 and 60-102 in 2025, 324 losses in all. CBS Sports notes the franchise had never had even two straight 100-loss seasons before this run. General manager Chris Getz was promoted in August 2023. Manager Will Venable, formerly the Texas Rangers' associate manager under Bruce Bochy, was hired on Oct. 31, 2024.
Andrew Benintendi and Vargas are the only position players left from the 2024 roster, MLB.com reported. The team has hit 204 home runs. Colson Montgomery, Vargas and Munetaka Murakami, who signed a two-year, $34 million deal in December, have each hit 30 or more. Per CBS Sports, this is only the fourth White Sox team with three 30-homer hitters. CBS also credits Randal Grichuk, who has 14 homers since joining in early May; reliever Grant Taylor, who has a 2.31 ERA; and rookie reliever Hagen Smith, who has a 1.32 ERA.
"They have belief in themselves, belief in each other," Venable told MLB.com. "That can carry you a long way." Benintendi said: "We are dumb enough to think we can win it. So, why not?" Catcher Edgar Quero said: "Maybe some people think I was crazy, but I'm not. The guys are proving it right now."
The berth comes six weeks after the club retired Ozzie Guillén's No. 13. Guillén managed the 2005 team, the last White Sox team to win a playoff series. The 2021 club went 93-69 and won the AL Central before losing to the Houston Astros in the Division Series.
What's left
The White Sox finish the regular season with three home games against the last-place Colorado Rockies, starting Friday with Sean Burke on the mound. They sit one game behind the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central after leading the division by 5½ games in August. Cleveland finishes with three games at Kansas City.
If Chicago wins the division, it gets a bye into the Division Series and faces the winner of the No. 3 vs. No. 6 Wild Card Series, CBS Sports reported. If not, it is the No. 6 seed and opens the Wild Card Series on the road against the AL West champion.
A Chicago double
Minutes after the White Sox won, the Cubs beat the Miami Marlins 2-1 at Wrigley Field to clinch a wild-card berth, Sports Illustrated reported. It was the first time both Chicago teams clinched on the same day. According to MLB's Sarah Langs, quoted by SI, the Cubs and White Sox have made the postseason in the same year only four times: 1906, 2008, 2020 and 2026. The same day, Pete Crow-Armstrong stole his 40th base and became the seventh player with a 40-40 season. The Los Angeles Dodgers clinched their 14th straight berth earlier this month.
Source: Associated Press, MLB.com, CBS Sports
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