White Sox clinch playoff berth with 9-1 win over Royals in Kansas City
The Chicago White Sox clinched their first playoff spot since 2021 by beating the Royals 9-1 in Kansas City, capping a turnaround from back-to-back 100-loss seasons.
Sox punch their ticket in Kansas City
The Chicago White Sox clinched a playoff berth on Thursday afternoon, beating the Royals 9-1 in Kansas City. It's the club's first postseason trip since they won the AL Central in 2021, and it comes right after two straight 100-loss seasons. That kind of turnaround doesn't happen by accident, and this one goes back further than most people realize.
Before the 2025 season, White Sox catcher Edgar Quero told MLB.com the team was going to get better, pointing to how young and hungry the roster was, even coming off a 121-loss season. That is not a call many people would have made out loud at the time. Quero has stuck by it every spring since, including this year's camp.
The prediction nobody believed
“Maybe some people think I was crazy, but I'm not,” Quero said. He backed it up by pointing to his own playoff experience in the minors with several of these same teammates, saying the current roster has that same base. This season has been a step back for Quero individually, he went from sharing catching duties with Kyle Teel to missing the playoff roster outright, but he still left his mark. He hit a walk-off home run off Ryan Rolison to beat the Cubs and win the Crosstown Series at Rate Field on May 27, and added a walk-off single against the Yankees on July 29.
Players who helped and moved on
Some of the biggest moments came from guys who aren't even on the roster anymore. Jose Urquidy struck out eight over six scoreless innings against the Cubs at Wrigley Field on Aug. 19 to keep Chicago from getting swept, before he was later dealt to the Phillies. Jacob Gonzalez, the team's top pick in the 2023 Draft, delivered a walk-off hit to beat the Royals on June 27, then got traded to the Pirates two weeks after that. The White Sox have leaned on a group that's been in constant motion, and it's worked anyway.
Venable points to belief
Manager Will Venable keeps coming back to one word to explain it: belief. “They have belief in themselves, belief in each other,” he said. “That can carry you a long way.” He pointed to road trips to Yankee Stadium and Wrigley Field, playing in sold-out buildings against good teams in high-leverage spots, as proof this group doesn't rattle.
“Playoffs are a different beast,” Venable said, but he says the stretch run has already forced this team through similar pressure. The White Sox backed all of it up with power too, hitting 204 home runs as a team this season. Whatever happens in October, Venable said this group has as much self-belief as any he's coached.