White Sox Begin Crucial Series for Playoff Seeding

The White Sox have a chance to strengthen their grip on the No. 2 seed in the American League and create significant separation from the Astros during a crucial four-game series in Houston.

Video Transcript

It’s a big series for the Chicago White Sox starting on Monday evening, one that could have serious playoff implications against the Houston Astros.

As things stand today, Monday, twenty-six regular season games remain on the White Sox schedule.

They are the number two seed in the American League with a three-and-a-half game lead over the Cleveland Guardians and a three-and-a-half game advantage over the Houston Astros, who currently sit as the AL West leader.

The Astros are sixty-nine and sixty-eight, and for the White Sox, it’s not just about winning the division, it’s about finishing as the second best division winner in the American League, therefore bypassing the wild card series and going straight to the ALDS with home field advantage.

The current playoff picture, the White Sox would host the winner of Astros Guardians in the DS with game one, game two, and maybe game five at home at Rate Field in Chicago.

Big difference there between that scenario and going to a wild card series where two losses can end your season before you even get to the division series.

So while a division champion always has that home field advantage, finishing with a better record than the Astros is almost as important as finishing ahead of Cleveland.

Both are necessary for the White Sox to advance directly to the ALDS, and with three and a half games of separation and a four-game series this week, there’s a lot on the line.

Get swept by the Astros and they overtake you in the standings.

Lose three out of four and that three-and-a-half game gap becomes a one-and-a-half game gap.

A split series and you keep it right where things are.

But if the White Sox can win three out of four against the Astros this week, they basically bury Houston entirely.

Taking three out of four means the White Sox lead over Houston becomes five and a half games.

It also gives the White Sox a four to three advantage in the season series with the Astros, therefore securing the tiebreaker.

So if the White Sox take three out of four, they’d be left with a seventy-five and sixty-five record, while the Astros would sit at seventy and seventy-one.

So if the White Sox then finish their season eleven and ten, eleven and eleven over their final twenty-two games of the season, of the season, the Astros would need to finish seventeen and four just to overtake the White Sox.

Lose the series, things get uncomfortably tight.

Win the series and the number two overall seed in the playoff picture is well within reach.

Stakes are high.

Anthony Kaye takes the mound on Monday night for the White Sox as they go to Houston to take on the Astros

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