How to Watch Chicago White Sox vs. Houston Astros - Wild Card Series on Peacock
This week on Peacock, Wild Card Playoffs baseball action takes us to an American League showdown.
Content availability may vary over time.
Key Takeaways
- The Chicago White Sox and Houston Astros face off in a best-of-three MLB Wild Card series beginning Sept. 29 at Daikin Field in Houston, with all games streaming exclusively on Peacock.
- Houston enters after winning the AL West despite an 81-81 regular season record, while Chicago returns to the postseason for the first time since 2021 after back-to-back 100-loss seasons.
- Key players to watch include Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez and White Sox rookie Munetaka Murakami, alongside Miguel Vargas and Colson Montgomery, in a matchup expected to feature strong offensive firepower.
The MLB Playoffs are underway, uniting the 12 best teams in the MLB in a pursuit of a World Series title. It all begins with the Wild Card round this week on Peacock, and when it comes to at least one matchup, a showdown between two teams who seemed like they might not get here at all.
The Chicago White Sox are in the postseason for the first time since 2021, while the Houston Astros are back for the first time since a very brief outing in 2024. The Astros broke even in regular season play at 81-81, the first time a team has reached the MLB Playoffs without a winning record, while the White Sox lost 100 games in both 2025 and 2024, trekking a long road before getting back to the post-season.
But both teams defied the odds, and now we get to see them swing for the fences in a shot at World Series glory. Let's take a closer look at the matchup.
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How to watch Chicago White Sox vs. Houston Astros - Wild Card Series?
The Astros and the White Sox begin their best-of-three Wild Card series Tuesday, Sept. 29 at 5 p.m., live from Daikin Field in Houston. Game 2 arrives Wednesday, Sept. 30 at 5 p.m., and if necessary, Game 3 will air Oct. 1. You can catch all three games streaming live, exclusively on Peacock.
White Sox vs. Astros start time
The White Sox and the Astros are set to begin Game 1 at 5 p.m. ET Tuesday, with Game 2 arriving at the same time Wednesday. Game 3's time will be announced if necessary.
White Sox vs. Astros preview
The Astros just got out of a hard fight to win their division in the American League, holding out long enough to claim the title and, thus, a higher seed, despite tough competition from the Rangers and a rough, injury-paved road this season. They're the team with the most to prove in this series, and arguably in the entire Wild Card Round, and with the home field advantage they will be pushing for an early lead every chance they get, spurred on by a solid batting attack.
But while the White Sox are the visiting team, they're no less prepared to win this series. While Houston has more recent postseason success history, the White Sox as a franchise have been waiting for this moment for quite some time, and they've got a talented team with skills distributed across the roster, which means a big play could come from just about anyone. This really is anyone's series, and it'll be interesting to see who makes it out to the Division round.
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White Sox vs. Astros players to watch
Both of these teams have batting talent capable of turning an entire game on a dime, which means the Sox and 'Stros pitching staffs are going to have their hands full and they're likely to spend Game 1 feeling out the batting orders. For the White Sox, that means keeping a close eye on Yordan Alvarez, the top batter in the American League. He leads Houston in every major hitting stat, and if you let him get the right angle of attack with his bat he can make your night miserable.
But the Sox have their own powerful core of sluggers who, while not as flashy as Alvarez, can easily turn the tide of the game in the space of an inning. As the pitching staffs make adjustments, keep an eye on rookie Munetaka Murakami, who leads Chicago in home runs. And if he can't get something going at the plate, there's a good chance that Miguel Vargas and Colson Montgomery will.
Who's on the broadcast team for White Sox vs. Astros?
Tom McCarthy will call the action in this series for NBC Sports, with analysis from Steve Stone and Geoff Blum and on-field reporting from Britney Eurton. Adam Ottavino will provide "Inside the Pitch" commentary on select at-bats.
