HOUSTON (AP) — The Chicago White Sox used a big first inning and a three-run homer from Chase Meidroth to propel them to a 7-3 win over the Houston Astros on Wednesday to sweep their AL Wild Card Series.
It's the first time Chicago has won a playoff series since beating Houston in the World Series in 2005. Under the direction of second-year skipper Will Venable and with a letter of support from Pope Leo XIV, the White Sox advanced to face AL Central champion Cleveland in the AL Division Series beginning Saturday in Cleveland.
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Chicago White Sox's Chase Meidroth (10) celebrates after hitting a 3-run home run during the sixth inning in Game 2 of baseball's American League Wild Card Series against the Houston Astros, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)
Houston Astros' Cam Smith hits a solo home run during the second inning in Game 2 of baseball's American League Wild Card Series against the Chicago White Sox, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)
Houston Astros starting pitcher Hunter Brown (58) reacts after a RBI-single hit by Chicago White Sox's Tristan Peters during the first inning in Game 2 of baseball's American League Wild Card Series, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)
Houston Astros' Jose Altuve reacts after hitting a fly out to end the bottom of the fifth inning in Game 2 of baseball's American League Wild Card Series against the Chicago White Sox, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)
Chicago White Sox's Chase Meidroth (10) celebrates after hitting a 3-run home run during the sixth inning in Game 2 of baseball's American League Wild Card Series against the Houston Astros, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)
Chicago White Sox's Chase Meidroth (10) celebrates while running the bases after hitting a 3-run home run during the sixth inning in Game 2 of baseball's American League Wild Card Series against the Houston Astros, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)
The White Sox, who lost 100 games in each of the last three seasons, are the only team in major league history to follow consecutive 100-loss seasons with a playoff berth.
The AL West-winning Astros went 81-81 to become the first team to reach the postseason without a winning record. Their recent playoff woes in Houston continued Wednesday as they dropped their ninth straight home playoff game in a ninth trip to the postseason in the last 10 years.
Chicago pounced on the Astros for four runs in the first inning a day after scoring three in the first two innings of a 6-3 win. Houston ace Hunter Brown was lifted after getting just two outs and wasn’t helped by a sloppy defense which committed two first-inning errors.
He was 6-0 with a 2.39 ERA in six career starts against the White Sox before Wednesday’s debacle.
The Astros clawed their way back into it with solo home runs from Jeremy Peña, Cam Smith and Jose Altuve to trail by 1 entering the sixth inning.
AJ Blubaugh, who opened Game 1, and Peter Lambert, pitching on two days’ rest, combined to retire the next 13 batters after Brown exited. Chicago’s next baserunner came when Lambert walked Andrew Benintendi to start the sixth and then walked Tristan Peters.
Bryan Abreu came in, and Meidroth smashed his fifth pitch off the wall in left field to push the lead to 7-3. He yelled on his entire trip around the bases to the delight of a patch of White Sox fans seated near the visitor’s dugout.
Houston faced boos for a second game in a row from an unusually thin crowd. It’s a second straight playoff trip where the Astros have been swept at home in the wild card after losing both games to Detroit in 2024.
Now they’ll face an uncertain future with manager Joe Espada’s contract set to expire at season’s end after general manager Dana Brown was fired last month.
It was a disappointing series for Houston slugger and AL MVP-favorite Yordan Alvarez, who managed only a single with two strikeouts in eight at-bats in the series.
Altuve’s shot to the seats in left field in the fourth inning got the Astros within 4-3. It was the 28th postseason homer of his career, which is second in MLB history behind Manny Ramirez (29).
The Astros had a shot to take the lead before Meidroth’s homer. They loaded the bases with two outs in the fifth, but Anthony Kay retired Altuve on a fly out to end the inning.
See AP’s full MLB coverage here
Chicago White Sox's Chase Meidroth (10) celebrates after hitting a 3-run home run during the sixth inning in Game 2 of baseball's American League Wild Card Series against the Houston Astros, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)
Houston Astros' Cam Smith hits a solo home run during the second inning in Game 2 of baseball's American League Wild Card Series against the Chicago White Sox, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)
Houston Astros starting pitcher Hunter Brown (58) reacts after a RBI-single hit by Chicago White Sox's Tristan Peters during the first inning in Game 2 of baseball's American League Wild Card Series, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)
Houston Astros' Jose Altuve reacts after hitting a fly out to end the bottom of the fifth inning in Game 2 of baseball's American League Wild Card Series against the Chicago White Sox, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)
Chicago White Sox's Chase Meidroth (10) celebrates after hitting a 3-run home run during the sixth inning in Game 2 of baseball's American League Wild Card Series against the Houston Astros, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)
Chicago White Sox's Chase Meidroth (10) celebrates while running the bases after hitting a 3-run home run during the sixth inning in Game 2 of baseball's American League Wild Card Series against the Houston Astros, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)
Manchester City faces an uncertain future after the decorated English soccer club was found guilty of systematically breaking the Premier League's financial rules for nearly a decade.
The verdict, delivered by an independent disciplinary commission, leaves open an array of sanctions including a fine, points deduction or even expulsion from the Premier League. City could also face possible compensation claims from rival teams, while its ownership — the Abu Dhabi-controlled City Football Group — is coming under increasing scrutiny.
The club has rejected the verdict in a case that dates to 2018 and mainly covers its financial dealings from 2009-18, and promises a relentless campaign to clear its name.
Here's a look at what's next in one of the biggest scandals in English soccer history:
City can appeal the verdict and has insisted it will.
“The Club is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League and a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence exists in support of all of its positions,” City said in a statement. “The Club will therefore be relentless, and where necessary proactive, in any and all appropriate regulatory and legal forums.”
To make its appeal, City would need to send an email to the chair of the independent commission's three-person panel, who would then appoint a new appeal board — also consisting of three people, one of whom “shall have held judicial office,” according to the Premier League handbook.
The board will then schedule a hearing that should finish within 12 weeks after the appeal is filed and not exceed five consecutive days.
City’s punishment will be addressed in a separate, confidential hearing with the independent commission.
The Premier League statement didn't mention whether sanctions can be imposed before the decision of the appeal is reached, only that it was the league's intention that the process is concluded “as soon as possible.”
According to the Premier League, the independent commission could issue a reprimand, fine, suspension, points deduction or, in the worst case, expel the club from the competition. Clubs have been expelled from lower leagues in England but never from the Premier League.
A club that is expelled from the Premier League could apply for membership in the English Football League, which runs the three divisions below the Premier League: the Championship, League One and League Two. The EFL's regulations say it “could be asked to accommodate any former Premier League Club(s) in League Two.”
The biggest points deduction handed to a Premier League team was 10 to Everton in 2023, for overspending in one three-year financial period. That deduction was later reduced to six after an appeal. City’s breaches are much more widespread and included a refusal to cooperate, unlike Everton.
Separately, the Independent Football Regulator — a body established by the British government last year to set governance standards in English soccer — could intervene in the City case.
The new regulator is independent of soccer authorities and has the power to remove club owners if they are found unsuitable.
“The independent commission’s decision raises serious issues,” IFR chairman David Kogan said on Wednesday.
“The IFR has powers to assess the suitability of owners, directors and executives and we will use these powers where appropriate, in the interests of protecting the sustainability, honesty and integrity of English football where there is clear evidence of wrongdoing by individuals,” he said.
Kogan said the IFR was awaiting further developments in the ongoing proceedings between City and the Premier League.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he would be “really concerned” to lose City’s current ownership.
“They’ve been such a huge partner in the building of modern Manchester,” Burnham, who was formerly the mayor of Manchester, said to the BBC. “Obviously, the building of Manchester City into the global force that it is.”
Asked if he would be willing to listen to the United Arab Emirates government about the matter, Burnham said: “I am not getting directly involved in the process. I’ve not spoken to anybody directly about that. I have to keep my distance from it. It would be wrong for me to do anything else. It’s an independent legal process that has to play its course through.”
The Man City case is a disciplinary proceeding, not a criminal investigation. However, some have suggested that British authorities also should look at matter.
“If accounts have been falsified and auditors have been misled, then it is potentially a criminal matter,” Lord Cruddas, a Conservative peer, told the BBC. “The auditors will call in the police, directors are personally liable for any fraud of a UK company even if it is foreign-owned.”
According to the Fraud Act of 2006, individuals can face up to 10 years in prison if they are found to have dishonestly made a false representation with the intention of making a gain or avoiding a loss.
There have been no reports of any criminal investigation in the case.
Etihad Airways, City's main sponsor, was considering legal against the Premier League for the way the investigation findings were communicated, Sky News reported late Wednesday.
Sky News quoted an Etihad statement saying “we stand with the club,” adding that the Abu Dhabi-based airline said it would “seek the relevant legal counsel on the options and recourse available to protect its interests . . . at no time did the Premier League reach out to or engage with Etihad in the process associated with the commission’s opinion.”
No club has publicly announced its intention to make a compensation claim based on the impact of City's rule-breaking. However, the BBC has reported that a number of clubs had started seeking advice over whether they would have a case for financial compensation, before the verdict had been announced.
A precedent was set this year when Everton was ordered to pay more than 35 million pounds ($47 million) in compensation to Burnley, which successfully argued to a disciplinary commission that it would have survived relegation — at Everton’s expense — in the 2021-22 campaign had its rival been given its six-point penalty for the financial breaches that season.
In City's case, top teams could argue they lost out on titles or Champions League qualification — worth tens of millions of dollars each season — because of City's conduct, and weaker teams could claim defeats to City's expensively assembled squads contributed to relegation or lower finishing positions in the league standings, and therefore reduced prize money.
See AP’s full soccer coverage here
Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak, left, and chief executive Ferran Soriano arrive to watch the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Manchester City and Feyenoord at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)
FILE - A general view of the stadium ahead of the FA Cup third round soccer match between Manchester City and Manchester United at the Etihad stadium, Manchester, England, Sunday, Jan. 8, 2012. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell, File)
FILE - A general view of the Etihad Stadium ahead of the English FA Cup soccer match between Manchester City and Plymouth Argyle, Manchester, England, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Jon Super, File)
FILE - Flares and tape are let off as Manchester City's players celebrate on stage as fans watch the winners parade as the team celebrates winning the English Premier League title in Manchester, England, Monday, May 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Jon Super, File)
FILE - A exterior shot of the stadium before the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England, Wednesday, June 17, 2020. (Peter Powell/Pool via AP, File)
