By Salem Chicago News Staff
CHICAGO — The White Sox and Cubs both clinched spots in the 2026 MLB postseason, giving Chicago fans a rare double dose of October baseball beginning Tuesday.
The White Sox (84-78) will travel to Houston to face the Astros in the American League Wild Card Series, while the Cubs (89-73) head to San Diego to take on the Padres in the National League Wild Card Series. Both best-of-three matchups begin Tuesday, with the White Sox opening at 4 p.m. CT and the Cubs starting at 9 p.m. CT.
The South Siders completed their regular season with a 4-2 victory over the Rockies on Sunday at Rate Field, capping an 84-win campaign that few predicted after the franchise posted a 41-121 record in 2024 and 102 losses in 2025.
“I don’t think anyone really expected it,” left-hander Anthony Kay, who earned Sunday’s victory, said. “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.”
The Cubs, meanwhile, closed out their season with a 6-2 win over the Red Sox at Tropicana Field. Chicago center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong capped an MVP-caliber campaign that included 45 home runs and 41 stolen bases, making him just the seventh player in MLB history with a 40-40 season.
The matchups set up compelling rematches for both clubs. The White Sox last reached the postseason in 2021, when they lost to the Astros in four games in the AL Division Series. The Cubs defeated the Padres in last year’s NL Wild Card Series in three games at Wrigley Field before falling to the Brewers in the NLDS.
Sunday’s crowd of 29,767 at Rate Field gave the White Sox a final home attendance of 1,986,416, their highest since 2022.
“It’s a mutual thing,” White Sox manager Will Venable said of the bond between the team and its fans. “It takes good baseball and a good team that you want to come out and support, and the way our guys have gone out and played — played extremely hard, played well, they’re good players, good guys that I think everybody identifies with.”
On the North Side, Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman offered his own enthusiasm for what lies ahead.
“Everyone’s goal is to get to the postseason and make a deep run,” Bregman said. “You grow up as a kid watching playoff baseball, and it’s the best kind of baseball there is. Every pitch, whether you’re on defense or on offense or running the bases, just means so much.”
The White Sox are the No. 6 seed in the AL and will face the No. 3 seed Astros, who clinched the AL West title on Sunday with an 81-81 record. The Cubs are the No. 5 seed in the NL and will face the No. 4 seed Padres at Petco Park.
All Wild Card Series games will air on NBC Sports platforms, including NBC, Peacock and NBC Sports Network. The coverage marks the return of postseason baseball to NBC for the first time since the 2000 ALCS.
If the White Sox advance past Houston, they would face the Guardians in the ALDS beginning Oct. 3 in Cleveland. A Cubs victory over San Diego would set up an NLDS rematch with the Brewers.
Source: MLB.com — White Sox News / MLB.com — Cubs News
