When the White Sox blew a six-run lead to the Detroit Tigers on Friday, the feeling among the fan base was that it was the death blow for the season. They were knocked out of their first-place tie in the AL Central and were clinging to a one-game lead for the final wild-card spot.
But if there’s one attribute to define the 2026 White Sox, it’s that they absolutely refuse to stay down for too long. They won the next two games to take the series over the Tigers. With their 8-1 victory in the finale, they remained one game back of the Cleveland Guardians for the division but increased their wild-card lead over the Houston Astros and Toronto Blue Jays to three games.
So all of a sudden, the Sox appear much more likely to be in the postseason than they did at the end of Friday. Even though they own the tiebreaker over the Guardians, it won’t matter if they can’t match their record. Still, it would take a catastrophic collapse against two last-place teams in the Kansas City Royals and Colorado Rockies for them not to make the field at this point.
Regardless of what happens next, the most important thing immediately is that the Sox have arrived at their final off day of the regular season. It might seem frustrating, if not torturous, that they won’t be able to help their own cause on Monday, but it actually couldn’t be arriving at a better time.
Perhaps no one is happier for the day off to arrive than the pitching staff, both starters and relievers. The inability of the rotation to go very deep into games has taken a massive toll on the bullpen. To be sure, they have been effective for most of the year but have had to cover more than should be reasonably expected of a bullpen.
Nevertheless, the Sox should take stock of what they’ve accomplished. They just won their 80th game for the first time in four years and can clinch a .500 season with their next victory. After, a playoff berth should be well within their reach. It goes without saying, but that would be a major accomplishment considering they’re coming off three straight 100-loss seasons, including a modern-era record 121 defeats in 2024.
The Sox deserve a day to think about anything other than baseball. After that, it will be time to close the deal. However they get into the playoffs, it will be the culmination of what’s been a very long road. Although it’s only been five years since they last made it there, it feels like 500 considering everything that’s happened since then.
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