INDEPENDENT MLB ANALYTICSINDEPENDENT ANALYTICS
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FinalFinal lineupsAL Central / AL West

Chicago White Sox 6, Houston Astros 3

Final Score and Game Recap

Final score, pitching lines and standings context.

5:00 PM ET · Daikin ParkGame-day snapshot Oct 1, 2:01 AM ETFinal lineups lockedCurrent 2026 season stats — updated Oct 12, 5:00 AM ET
T-Score56
Chicago White Sox
84–78 · 2nd AL Central · T-Score 56
6
6–3
FINAL · 9 innings
Houston Astros
81–81 · 1st AL West · T-Score 53
3
T-Score53
FINAL · 9 innings
Pitching recap
PitcherTeamRoleIPHERBBKP
Hagen SmithCWS
Starter
3.0200138
Jordan HicksCWS
ReliefWin
1.1000117
AJ BlubaughHOU
StarterLoss
0.2003027
Scoring by inning
123456789RHE
CWSChicago White Sox1201101006111
HOUHouston Astros000020010361
Top hitters
Nelson Velázquez1-for-3 · 1 HR · 2 RBI
Colson Montgomery1-for-3 · 1 HR · 1 RBI
Sam Antonacci1-for-3 · 2 RBI · 1 R · 1 BB
Chase Meidroth2-for-4 · 1 RBI · 1 R
Munetaka Murakami1-for-3 · 1 RBI · 2 R · 1 BB

Matchup at a glance

PitcherStat calculation
CategoryComparisonWhy
Starting pitcherSoxThe starters are close overall, but Smith owns the better strikeout and control profile.
Offense vs handSoxChicago has produced the stronger offense against right-handed pitching.
BullpenEvenThe two bullpens have produced similar season ERA and WHIP.
Recent formSoxChicago has won 7 of its last 10 and owns the stronger recent run differential.
Plate disciplineSoxChicago has drawn 589 walks this season, 59 more than Houston.

Pregame contextStarting pitchers

CWS
Hagen Smith LHP
Hagen Smith
Chicago White Sox
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
1.29
WHIP
0.96
K/9
13.18
BB/9
5.14
FIP
–
HR/9
0.32
OPS/R
–
IP
28.0
Last 5 starts
QUALITY
START %
0%
(0 of 5)
DAYS
REST
4
HOU
AJ Blubaugh RHP
AJ Blubaugh
Houston Astros
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
3.66
WHIP
1.23
K/9
8.81
BB/9
3.94
FIP
–
HR/9
1.22
OPS/R
–
IP
96.0
Last 5 starts
QUALITY
START %
0%
(0 of 5)
DAYS
REST
4
How the starters differ
·Smith strikes out 4.4 more batters per nine innings.
·Smith allows fewer baserunners, with a 0.96 WHIP compared with 1.23.
·Smith enters with a 1.29 ERA compared with Blubaugh's 3.66.
·Smith allows the lower home-run rate: 0.32 vs 1.22 per nine.

How the lineups match the starters' pitch mix

Pitch data coverage: partial. Usage and velocity only.

Smith arsenal
PitchUsageVelo
Four-seam48%93.8
Slider30%83.1
Cutter19%88.4
Changeup2%87.5
Blubaugh arsenal
PitchUsageVelo
Four-seam51%95.8
Sweeper23%84.7
Changeup21%85.9
Cutter4%89.1
Curveball1%80.5

Team OPS vs opposing starter's hand

Sox vs RHP (AJ Blubaugh)
17th
in MLB
0.716OPS
.600.700.800.9001.000
Astros vs LHP (Hagen Smith)
11th
in MLB
0.713OPS
.600.700.800.9001.000

Lineup strength vs today's starter

Weighted by batting-order spot. Season rates are regressed toward league average before they enter the model.

Updated Sep 29, 1:00 PM ET
CWSCWS
.746
−20 ptsOPS edge
HOUHOU
.766

Slight edge: HOU

Full lineup comparison

Lineups

Final lineupsOrder from the stored snapshot; treat as unofficial until the card is filed.Full lineup page
Chicago White SoxOfficial lineupvs RHP AJ Blubaugh
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs RHPVs Blubaugh (BvP)
1Sam AntonacciLLF60.7668.8070-for-2Very small sample
2Kyle TeelLC51.6975.744No MLB historyNo history
3Miguel VargasR3B85.83733.8010-for-1Very small sample
4Munetaka MurakamiL1B79.82535.8661-for-2Very small sample
5Andrew BenintendiLDH59.71515.7410-for-1Very small sample
6Tristan PetersLCF60.77412.8021-for-2Very small sample
7Braden MontgomerySRF49.6626.7551-for-2Very small sample
8Chase MeidrothR2B62.76516.6651-for-2Very small sample
9Colson MontgomeryLSS60.68531.6440-for-2Very small sample
1Sam Antonacci LF · L.277 / .766 · 8 HRvs hand .807 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample60H-Score2Kyle Teel C · L.210 / .697 · 5 HRvs hand .744 · No MLB history · No history51H-Score3Miguel Vargas 3B · R.250 / .837 · 33 HRvs hand .801 · 0-for-1 · Very small sample85H-Score4Munetaka Murakami 1B · L.207 / .825 · 35 HRvs hand .866 · 1-for-2 · Very small sample79H-Score5Andrew Benintendi DH · L.240 / .715 · 15 HRvs hand .741 · 0-for-1 · Very small sample59H-Score6Tristan Peters CF · L.265 / .774 · 12 HRvs hand .802 · 1-for-2 · Very small sample60H-Score7Braden Montgomery RF · S.226 / .662 · 6 HRvs hand .755 · 1-for-2 · Very small sample49H-Score8Chase Meidroth 2B · R.276 / .765 · 16 HRvs hand .665 · 1-for-2 · Very small sample62H-Score9Colson Montgomery SS · L.197 / .685 · 31 HRvs hand .644 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample60H-Score
Houston AstrosOfficial lineupvs LHP Hagen Smith
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs LHPVs Smith (BvP)
1Jeremy PeñaRSS60.80222.691No MLB historyNo history
2Yordan AlvarezLDH911.03342.825No MLB historyNo history
3Isaac ParedesR3B66.80725.759No MLB historyNo history
4Jose AltuveR2B48.70116.762No MLB historyNo history
5Yainer DiazRC62.77214.806No MLB historyNo history
6Christian WalkerR1B63.72629.769No MLB historyNo history
7Lucas SpenceLCF—.8264.558No MLB historyNo history
8Cam SmithRRF57.66921.729No MLB historyNo history
9Taylor TrammellLLF43.6268.423No MLB historyNo history
1Jeremy Peña SS · R.277 / .802 · 22 HRvs hand .691 · No MLB history · No history60H-Score2Yordan Alvarez DH · L.316 / 1.033 · 42 HRvs hand .825 · No MLB history · No history91H-Score3Isaac Paredes 3B · R.262 / .807 · 25 HRvs hand .759 · No MLB history · No history66H-Score4Jose Altuve 2B · R.250 / .701 · 16 HRvs hand .762 · No MLB history · No history48H-Score5Yainer Diaz C · R.285 / .772 · 14 HRvs hand .806 · No MLB history · No history62H-Score6Christian Walker 1B · R.226 / .726 · 29 HRvs hand .769 · No MLB history · No history63H-Score7Lucas Spence CF · L.218 / .826 · 4 HRvs hand .558 · No MLB history · No history—H-Score8Cam Smith RF · R.210 / .669 · 21 HRvs hand .729 · No MLB history · No history57H-Score9Taylor Trammell LF · L.192 / .626 · 8 HRvs hand .423 · No MLB history · No history43H-Score

Team comparison

OffenseCWSCWS·HOUHOU
AVG.236 25th.242 18th
OPS.726 9th.732 7th
Home runs211 5th226 1st
Runs776 5th734 13th
OBP.320 9th.315 19th
SLG.406 8th.417 4th
PitchingCWSCWS·HOUHOU
1stMLB rank30th
ERA4.12vs4.45
CWSHOU
WHIP1.31vs1.34
CWSHOU
K/98.3vs8.8
CWSHOU
HR Allowed180vs204
CWSHOU
BullpenCWSCWS·HOUHOU
1stMLB rank30th
Bullpen ERA3.62vs3.71
no league rank
Bullpen WHIP1.28vs1.23
no league rank
Saves41vs49
CWSHOU
ResultsCWSCWS·HOUHOU
+34810th
Run differential
+32713th
84–78 Record81–81
7–3 Last 105–5
Last 10 games
Chicago White Sox (7–3)
W
L
W
W
L
W
W
W
L
W
Houston Astros (5–5)
W
W
L
W
L
W
L
L
L
W
2026 head-to-head
Season Series
3—3
6 Games Played

Frequently asked

Who is starting for the Sox?+
Hagen Smith (1.29 ERA, 3–3) is listed as the starter.
Who is starting for the Astros?+
AJ Blubaugh (3.66 ERA, 5–3) is listed as the starter.
What time does the game start?+
5:00 PM ET at Daikin Park.
Where is the game being played?+
Daikin Park, home of the Houston Astros.
Are the lineups confirmed?+
Not as official league cards. The orders shown are the current projected or last-posted lineups.
How have the Sox and Astros performed head-to-head?+
Season series: Astros 3–3 this season.