White Sox advance to ALDS

The White Sox beat the Astros 7-3 in Game 2 of the AL Wild Card Series to advance to the best-of-five AL Division Series against the Guardians.

ALDS Game 1 schedule

Game 1 is underway at Progressive Field on Wednesday, 4 p.m. ET/3 CT on TBS, truTV, UniMas, and HBO Max.

Guardians' lead in Central race

Chicago held at least a share of first place for 96 days, and Cleveland for 89 days before the Guardians won a three-game series over the White Sox from Sept. 14-16.

Guardians' 85-77 record

The Guardians finished 85-77, and the White Sox 84-78, with Chicago winning the head-to-head season series 7-6.

Guardians manager Stephen Vogt

Vogt said, 'Obviously we know Chicago really well. We’ve played them a lot. A really good team offensively. They've got a lot of power and they match up really well with us pitching-wise.'

“Obviously we know Chicago really well. We’ve played them a lot. A really good team offensively. They've got a lot of power and they match up really well with us pitching-wise.”

White Sox starting pitcher

Hagen Smith, a rookie with a 3.18 ERA and eight strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings, will start in Game 1 after a Wild Card victory over the Astros.

Guardians starting pitcher

Parker Messick, who had a 2.81 ERA with 29 strikeouts and five walks in 25 2/3 innings against Chicago, will start in Game 1.

White Sox lineup

Randal Grichuk starts in left field with Chase Meidroth at second base, and the White Sox used an opener 31 times this season.

Guardians lineup

David Fry starts at first base with Chase DeLauter in right field, and the Guardians have a top-notch bullpen including young hurlers.

Guardians' injury update

Holderman (right wrist inflammation) will not return this postseason and expects surgery, while Rhys Hoskins (lower back inflammation) is working out after being on the injured list.

Who is hot?

Kwan led the Majors in batting average (.353) after the All-Star break, and Bazzana hit .280 with six home runs in September.